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DISCOURSE 



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]Vew-England IIisToiiic, Genealogical Society, 

BOSTON, MARCH 18, 1870, 



ox TIIIC OCCASION OF TIIK 



TWEi\TY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY 



OF ITS INCORPORATION. 



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BY THE REV. EDMUND F* SLAFTER, A.M., 

CORKKSPONDIXG SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY. 



WITH PROCEEDINGS AND APPENDIX. 




BOSTON : 
NEW-ENGLAND HISTORIC, GEXEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

M. DCCC. LXX. 



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HANGIS 



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IT IS NOT THE LEAST DEBT WHICH WE OWE UKTO HISTORY, THAT IT HATII MADE US 
ACQUAINTED WITH OUK DEAD ANCESTORS, AKO DELIVERED US THEIR MEMORY AND 

Fame.—- Sir Walter Ralegh. 



David Clafp & Son, Pkisteks, Boston. 



PROCEEDINGS 



Society's Rooms, 17 Bromfield Street, 
Boston, 31st August, 1869. 

The Kcv. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M. 
Reverend and dear Sir, — 

At a late meeting of the New-England Historic, Gene- 
alogical Society, the subject of observing its twenty-fifth anni- 
versary was referred to the Board of Directors. 

Subsequently, at a meeting of the board, the following resolutions 
were adopted : — 

Resolved, — That it is expedient to observe the twenty-fifth anni- 
versary of the incorporation of this Society. 

Resolved, — That an address be delivered on that occasion on the 
history and future work of the Society. 

In furtherance of the purpose expressed in the foregoing resolu- 
tions, the undersigned, having been appointed a committee to make 
the necessary arrangements, tender to you most cordially our unani- 
mous request that you will deliver an address before the Society on 
the approaching twenty-fifth anniversary of its incorporation, which 
will occur on the 18th day of jNIarch, 1870. 

With sentiments of esteem and regard, 

We remain, dear sir, most respectfully, 

Your obedient servants, 

Marshai.i, p. Wilder. 
Hiland Hall. 
WixsLow Lkavis. 
John R. Bartlktt. 
Geo. li. Upton. 
Charles IL Bell. 
William B. Towne. 
E. Vj. Botikne. 

C. AV. TUTTLE. 

Charles J. IIoadly. 



4 X. E. inSTOFJC, GEXEALOGICAL SOCIETY, 

11 Beacon Street, Boston, 
25th October, 1869. 

Gentlemen : — 

I have had the honor to receive your communication, requesting 
rac to deliver an historical discoui'se on the occasion of the twenty- 
fifth anniversary of the New-England Historic, Genealogical Society. 
After much hesitation and with great diffidence as to my ability to 
deal with the subject as its importance deserves, I have decided to 
accept your invitation. 

I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
jSIost respectfully, 

Your obechent servant, 

Edmund F. Sl^uj^ter. 

The Hon. Maksuall P. Wilder, Boston, Mass. 

The Hon. Hiland Hall, Bennington, Vt. 

WiNSLOW Lewis, M.D., Boston, Mass. 

The Hon. Jonx K. Baktlktt. Providence. R. T. 

The Hon. George B. Upton, Boston, Mass. 

The Hon. Charles H. Bell, Exeter, N. H. 

Wm. B. Towne, Esq., Milford, N. H. 

The Hon. Edward E. Bourne, Kennebunk, Me. 

Charles W. Tuttle, Esq., Boston, Mass. 

Charles J. Hoadly, Esq., Hartford, Conn. 

The Discourse was delivered in Horticultural Hall, Tremont street, 
Boston, on the afternoon of the 18th of March, 1870, in the presence 
of over four hundred persons, members of the Society and invited 
guests. 

The Hon. ]Marshael P. Wilder, the president, in calling the 
meeting to order, spoke briefly as follows : — 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

In the observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of this vSociety, 
we desu-e to recognize the Divine Goodness which has preserved, 
prospered and raised it from its smaU beginning to its present flour- 
isliiiig state ; and while we gather here to recall and cherish the 
memories of the jjast, and contem})latc the duties and responsibilities 
of the future, we desire also to make a record of our progress, in the 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSAKY DISCOURSE. 5 

procecdiugs of" this day, which t^hall survive when the faces that now 
ghidden this presence, and those of us, who are now active members, 
shall have passed from the scenes of earth. 

Prayer was then offered by the Rev. James II. Means, A.M., 
of the Second Churcli in Dorchester. 

After the address, the Doxology was sung by the assembly, led by 
the Rev. Ja3Ies Aiken, and a benediction was pronounced by the 
Rev. Mr. Means. 

At the montiily meeting of the Society held at their rooms on 
Wednesday, April (5, INTO, the following resolution, offered by 
Albert H. Hoyt, Esq., was adopted. 

Resolved^ — That the thanks of this Society be presented to the 
Rev. Edmund F. Slafter for his appropriate, learned and eloquent 
discourse, delivered on the occasion of the celebration of the twentv- 
fiftii anniversary of its incorporation, and that a copy thereof be 
requested for publication. 



DISCOURSE. 

By the Rev. Edmlnd F. Slafteh, A.M. 



DISCOURSE. 



In the autumn of 1844, there were several gentlemen reskling in 
the city of Boston, who added to a long cherished taste for antiqua- 
rian subjects in general, a deep interest in historical and genealogical 
studies, and had already made wide explorations in this hitherto un- 
recognized, but important field of investigation. After casual con- 
sultations with each other, reacliing through some months anterior to 
this, they met' at the residence of one of their number, where they 
entered into a full and free discussion of the expediency of associated 
effort in behalf of theii' favorite study. At a second * meeting held 
on the 1st of November of the same year, they advanced so far as to 
appoint a chairman and secretary, to determine upon the establish- 
ment of a Society, to discuss the name that should be given to it, 
and to provide for its proper organization. 

Successive meetings continued to be held at frequent intervals, 
dm'ing the next three months, at which we find that the Society had 
been organized, a full corps of officers elected, a compact but com- 

1 This meeting was in October, 1844, at the house of William H. Montague, Esq., No. 4, 
Orange-street. There were present, besides Mr. Montague, Charles Ewer, Esq., Lemuel 
Shattuck, Esq. and John Wingatc Tliornton, Esq. No formal action was taken at this 
meeting. 

2 This meeting was at the residence of Lemuel Shattuck, Esq., No. 79 Harrison -avenue. 
There were present Mr. Charles Ewer, Mr. Samuel G. Drake, J. Wingate Thornton, Esq., 
Mr. William II. Montague, and Mr. Shattuck. Mr. Ewer was chosen chairman, and Mr. 
Thornton secretary. 

Until March, 1845, the meetings of the Society were held severally at the law-oflicc of Mr. 
Thornton, No. 20 Court street, at the residence of Mr. S. G. Drake, No. 5G Cornhill, and at 
the house of Mr. Shattuck, as above. On the 7th of March, 1845, the Society met at the 
rooms of the American Education Society, No. 15 Cornhill, and continued to hold its regu- 
lar meetings at the same place for the space of a year. This was a commodious room on 
the second flat of the four-story i)uilding. now in the joint occupancy of the American Edu- 
cation and Massachusetts Bible Societies. All the subsequent meetings of fhe Society have 
been held at their own rooms, with the exception of a few commemorative and other occa- 
sions, where larger space has been needed. For a full account of the different apartments 
leased by the Society sec note further on, under the subject of a new building. 

2 



10 N. E. mSTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

prchensive constitution * elaborated and adopted, and an application 
made to the general court of Massachusetts for an act of incorpo- 
ration. 

On numerous important subjects falling within the scope of their 
aims, committees had already been raised, and several judicious and 
practical schemes had been submitted and approved, for laying broad 
foundations for the future, and for entering at once upon the Society's 
appropriate work. This formative period did not pass without grave 
and important discussions, the repeated sm'vey of their chosen field 
in all its aspects, profound penetrations into the wealth of its chaotic 
treasures, and prophetic forecasts and brilliant visions of the rich 
harvest of liistorical truth, that they knew would come of patient and 
jiersevcring toil. They were indeed entering upon an experiment 
which had no antecedent. Anterior to this no historical Society, 
directing its energies to the same line of investigation, existed any- 
where on the face of the globe. The first thought comprehending 
our aim and purpose, certainly in its practical bearings, sprung into 
being among the founders of this Society. Why it should have had 
its birth here in the heart of New-England, and at this particular 
juncture, oflfers a theme of interesting and curious speculation. 

It may have been the sjTithetic method, the inductive principle, 
slumbering in its application to the study of history since the days of 
Bacon, awaiting, as the seed cast into the earth often does, the slow, 
mysterious processes of time to quicken it into active, positive life. 

Or it may have been, that the best field for this particular applica- 
tion of historical study was to be found here, on this corner of the 
western continent, among a people of unusual political and social 
equality, coming of the Anglo-Saxon stock, with an inheritance of 
many elements of character of which they always feel a just but not 
ostentatious pride. 

But whatever unseen and quickening influences were brooding over 
them in the progress of thought or the ripeness of time, our gratitude 
is due to the five gentlemen who entered into the primary organiza- 
tion, and to them must the honor forever be accorded of giving form 
to the idea and method of historical study, inaugurated by tliis So- 

' The Constitution was adopted Dcceniher, 1844. The first full hoard of officers was 
elected January 7, 1845. After the incorporation of the Society, the Constitution was again 
formally adopted by vote on the 1st of April, 1845. 



T"\VENTY-FirTn ANNIVERSART DISCOURSE. 11 

cicty, and on which its whole fabric has been firmly and persistingly 
reared. 

On the eighteenth day of March, 1845, since which time has to-day 
just filled lip the circuit of twenty-five years, an act of incoi-pora- 
tion was made complete by the signature of the governor of this 
Commonwealth, and we received on that day our charter under 
the title of the Kew-England Historic, Genealogical Society. 
The name' itself fully indicates the aim and purpose of the institution. 
Historical and genealogical are abbreviated into historic, genealogical, 
and in tliis more compact form, clearly express the two elements or 
constituents of our work. We are not a genealogical society merely, 
neither are we a liistorical society without limit or qualification. If 
w^e were the former our purpose would be consummated in the con- 
struction of tables of descent, family trees, and of little more than 
simple catalogues of names. However engrossing the investigation 
confined to such a narrow field as this might be to the persons imme- 
diately concerned, to all others it would be barren of interest and 
uncdifying to the last degree. 

In the completeness of our work the two elements are of necessity 
combined, the one always supplementing the other ; the historical 
is the more prominent and engrossing, requiring broader and more 
diversified investigations ; while the genealogical, however essential, 
is limited and narrow, relating to little more than the successive links 
by which the continuity of family history is maintained. Genealogy 
may be compared to the golden chain that holds a collection of jewels 
together, and keeps them in. their proper order and in theii- due rela- 
tions ; while history deals with each and the whole in the largest 
way, dilating with the greatest freedom, and saying all it may of 
their origin, their nature, their qualities, their size, their uses, and 
their value. 

Under tliis two-fold aim a unity of design pervades all our investi- 
gations ; all of them converging to the same point, terminating, as 

' The full purpose and dcsij^n of the Society appears to have been arrived at through the 
discussion by the founders of the name to be £?ivcn to it. One proposed " historic or histo- 
rical, genealogical," another "genealogical," a third "genealogical and heraldic," and a 
foiirtli <lesircd that "New-England" should be prefixed. The name finally settled upon 
appears happily to incorporate, with a slight exception, the views of all of them, and proves 
anew that " in the multitude of counsellors there is safety." See Proceedings, vol. i. p. I. 
Register, vol. ix. p. 11. 



12 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETr. 

an ultimate purpose, in the construction and building up of complete, 
distinct, family histories. But the process by which this constructive 
work is accomplished opens to us a field of historical study, replete 
with interest, cH versified in character, and inexhaustible in extent. 
Running far back to the early voyages to these western shores, and 
to the period when the Indian pursued his game among our moun- 
tains and along our lakes and rivers, and passing down through the 
eight or ten generations that have lived and flomished here since 
Anglo-Saxon blood became indigenous to New-England soil, and 
following them in their dispersion over the broad surface of our OAvn 
land, and into nearly every corner of the civilized world, we shall 
find no deed or event, which may come to us of tradition or of record, 
that will not add some tint or coloring, some light or shade, to the 
grand historical mosaic, which it is the office of this Society to con- 
struct. Having the New-England famihes as the basis of our study, 
whatever serves to influence or illustrate New-England life or charac- 
ter, in what has been written, in what has been said, or in what has 
been done, Avhether by direct influence or remotely by contrast, comes 
of necessity within tlie scope of our design. The history of education 
from the beginning to the present time, of science and the arts, of 
foreign commerce and internal trade, of invention and industry, of 
military aims and acliievemcnts, of law and the administration of 
justice, of religion, morals, manners, habits and customs, in their 
endless combinations and applications, all are embraced under the 
two-fold significance of our corporate name. 

With such a broad field as this, covered over with the ungathered 
harvest of rich historical material, the early members of our Society 
entered with youthful zeal and manly energy upon then- career of 
work. 

Plans were laid and steps immediately taken, under numerous 
conmiissions, to bring within their reach the sources* of information 
which are indispensable and fundamental in all historic, genealogical 

» On the 30th of January, 1845, " the expediency of publishing Farmej-'s Genealogical 
Register with the author's additions and corrections," was referred to the Board of Directors, 
and the author's copy and manuscripts were in their hands for about six months, and the 
subject was fully considered by them. It was, however, found that large additions would 
be necessary, involving systematic labors stretching through many years, and consequently 
it would not be advisal)le for the Society to undertake it in its corporate capacity. Soon 
after the agitation of the suliject by the Society, this Herculean labor was undertaken by 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 13 

investigations. These plans were broad, comprehensive, and char- 
acterized, by a far-sighted practical wisdom.' Many of them were 
sj^eedily carried forward to completion, while others were so vast in 
their design, and so complicated in their nature, that they remain un- 
executed down to the present moment. But all of these early move- 
ments, whether taken separately or together, were at once a pledge 
of present fidelity, and a prophecy of future growth. 

It was esteemed a matter of no small moment by om' early asso- 
ciates, to place themselves as a Society before the whole New-England 
j>opulation in their true and proper light, and especially that the value 
and importance of their chosen line of historical investigation should 
be clearly and distinctly understood. However marvellous and inex- 
plicable it may be to us, at the organization of this Society, and for 
sometime afterward, there was a strong, deep-seated prejudice,* lurk- 
ing everyW'here in the New-England mind against the cultivation in 
any degree of ancestral or family history. It was at that period re- 
garded as an infringement upon good taste, if not a crime in morals, 
to speak of our ancestors with any fervent interest, at least beyond 
the precincts of the family cu'cle. The cause of this unnatural sen- 
timent may possibly lie in a philosophy too deep for our penetration. 
But it seems, nevertheless, to have had its germ in the principle of 

the Hon. James Savage, and completed at the termination of fifteen years. While the 
value of this work can hardly be over estimated, especially as directing the investigator to 
the proper som'ces of information, it has, however, iu it so many errors that it cannot be 
fully relied upon, and is deficient in a happy and convenient arrangement. A work more 
exhaustive, better arranged, and correcting the eiTors in this, is a desideratum in the present 
stage of genealogical studies. 

' A great number of subjects were discussed, and committees were appointed to obtain 
information for the use of the Sotnety. The following are some of them, viz. : measures to 
preserve the printed notices of marriages and deaths, the inscriptions upon tomb-stones in 
Boston and vicinity, to obtain abstracts from probate records, the record of marriages " iu 
the Old Colony Records," sets of directories and city registers, annual and triennial cata- 
logues of colleges and seminaries of learning, a complete list of all names changed by act 
of legislature in New-England, copies of all town records in Massachusetts previous to 
1700, and deiKisit them in the state archives, to set ibrth forms of family registers, &c. &c. 

On the 6th of January, 1846, it was " voted that a special committee be appointed to 
petition the Legislature that a Record Commission be appointed to procure the printing of 
such early records as may be deemed expedient." This was the earliest movement in this 
direction, of which we have any knowledge, and was seven years before tiic State of Mas- 
sachusetts began to print the records of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonics, edit^-d 
by the Hon. Nathaniel B. Sljurtlcff, M.D., and David Pulsifer, Es(j., both members of this 
Society, the latter editing four volumes and transcriljing several of the others. The 
above indicate the energy, zeal and comprehensive intelligence with which oui* early mem- 
bers entered uiion their work during the first year of tlie Society's existence. 

* See New-England Historical and Ucuealogicul Register, vol. ix. p. 10. 



14 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

universal equality, which everywhere, except in social life, lies at the 
foundation of our institutions. To avoid the imputation of an offen- 
sive personal pride or self-importance, the tendency of public opinion 
was so strong in the opposite direction, that it was esteemed an 
honor to be ignorant of our origin, and a virtue to be reticent of our 
ancestry. Between this excessive and unnatural modesty on the one 
hand, and a boastful and repulsive pride on tlie other, there is a 
wholesome study of our family history, ennobling to the aspirations 
and stimulating to the virtues, wliich, from the beginning, it has 
been the unvarying aim of tliis Society to cultivate both by precept 
and example. 

At a very early period in the liistory of our proceedings, bulletins 
were sent forth by the Directors, announcing with clearness the 
objects of the association, and soliciting the aid and active co-opera- 
tion of its members. These were followed by a series of addresses 
by several of our associates, printed and Avidely disseminated, wliich 
discuss with great learning and elaborate argument the true aim and 
purpose of our method. These direct efforts on the part of the 
Society, together with other incidental and perhaps more effective 
influences still, wrought, in the progress of a few years, an entire 
change, or rather created a new sentiment throughout the whole of 
New England, on the value, importance and dignity of our line of 
historical investigation. The citizen's cheek that once flushed with 
shame now mantles with pride in the ample knowledge of ancestors, 
from whom he has received a veritable inheritance, by whom his 
physical, intellectual and moral character have been largely moulded 
and shaped, and to whom liis distinguisliing qualities may be proxi- 
mately or remotely traced. The creation, therefore, of a public sen- 
timent, favorable to our work, is one of the purposes, which has been 
fully accomplished. The cloud of prejudice and ignorance which 
overshadowed us in the beginning has gradually faded from the sight, 
and for several years we have had only an open and clear sky before 
us. And any elaborate statements or discussions of this topic in our 
proceedings have been for some time past, and must ever in the future 
be regarded as the re-arguing a case before a jury, which had already 
returned a verdict in our flivor. 

Among the primary movements of our members was the formation 
of a library of New-England history. This was justly regarded as 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 15 

the first step to be taken, and as lying at the foundation of all future 
success. To make any progress in historical study, it was obviously 
necessary that the proper material, digested and undigested, should be 
brought Avithin their reach. The Directors, acting for a Society, 
which, in their own emphatic words, was "endowed with notliing 
but the impoi'tance of its objects and the energy of its members," 
were fruitful in plans and instant in their execution. Schedules of 
what was wanted, under five distinct heads, embracing printed vol- 
umes, manuscript documents, original records, newspapers and mag- 
azines, were sent to all our members, and they were requested to 
procure the donation to the Society of tliis sort of material, classified 
and described by them more definitely than is necessaiy for my present 
purpose. These schedules Avere issued annually for the first three 
years of the Society's existence. The thuxl, in June, 1847, reached 
our members, more than three hundred in number, including resident, 
corresponding and honorary, and scattered, not only over the six 
New-England states, but also to be found in New-York, New-Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Oliio, Indiana, IlHnois, Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin, at the scat of government at Washington, and in 
the city of London in England. These bulletins went forth like a 
bugle call, and the response came back, warm, earnest, prompt and 
generous. It is to be observed that the contributions wliich came to 
us, as was intended, were, at tliis early period, almost exclusively 
from members of the Society. The collections of our associates 
yielded large material, gathered under the influence of their prevailing 
tastes, which they were ready and rejoiced to make the foundation of 
a library, which had a great historical purpose. The impulse thus 
given, kept alive by the growing fame of our generous design, and 
the broadly dilFused personal influence of our members, has main- 
tained a constant flow of historical material to the archives of this 
Society. The current has varied but little, either in strength or ful- 
ness, from the beginning down to the present moment. The sources, 
however, have not been limited to the narrow boundary of member- 
sliip, but authors, and publishers, and private gentlemen have had a 
commendable pride in placing here not only the product of their own 
pens, but whatever may du'ectly or indirectly illustrate the character 
of any descendant of New-England stock, whether found here u[)on 
her soil, or building up his fortunes on any other part of the globe. 



16 N. E. IIISTOiaC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

Our library has thus been made up, with liardly any exception, by 
the vohuitary contributions of those who have a personal interest in 
our great work ; and it is a noble monument to this historical taste, 
now numbering, as it does, over eight thousand bound volumes, and 
more than twenty-six thousand pamphlets, nearly all historical in 
their character, and indispensably necessary to our purpose in the 
illustration and development of New-England history. 

So much have we done in tliis direction in the twenty-five years of 
our corporate existence. To say that it is the largest, the fullest, or 
even the best library within the limits of our chosen field, is not say- 
ing for it all that will be said of it at a future day. It is yet in its 
infancy, and matches by no means our ideal conception of what it 
should be. It must be made exhaustive in the department which 
it aims to represent. But as I propose to speak of it more fully in 
the sequel, I pass on to another branch of our work. 

Immediately on the organization of the Society it became apparent, 
both from the instalments placed in our arcliives, and from other indi- 
cations, that there Avas a large amount of historical material relating 
to local and family history, in the form of letters, pajiers, private and 
official records, scattered all through New-England, hid away in 
attics and unused apartments, in folios falling from their binding, 
worn and defaced, imappreciated, wasting and gradually becoming 
extinct. To bring this witliin the archives of the Society was an 
important step in their rescue from impending destruction, and their 
permanent preservation. And this we were effectually doing by the 
means to which I have already referred. But to render tliis crude 
material accessible to the historical student, to bring it within practi- 
cal reach of the numerous investigators in our line of study, it was 
necessary to subject it to a careful inspection and analysis, to bring 
together the scattered fragments of history, to classify, arrange and 
unite them in their proper order ; and, beyond all this, to secure 
their broadest usefulness, it was found also important to incorporate 
them into printed volumes, thus laying open their treasures, and 
placing them at the ready command of the historical investigator 
down to the latest period of time. 

To accomplish this l)y an institution still in its infancy, and Avith 
no endowment beyond that of a noble purpose, was a problem diffi- 
cult to solve. At an early period, almost coincident with the organ- 



TWENTY-FIFTn ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 17 

ization of tlic Society, the attention of our associates was directed to 
the estabhshincnt of a journal which should appear quarterly, in 
whose pages should be enibahned these perishing records of New- 
England history. I need not recount the obstacles that presented 
themselves, the repeated discussions, the propositions made and with- 
drawn, the negotiations attempted, the plans entered upon and aban- 
doned, before it was possible to set forward on an enterprise like this, 
appealing to an undeveloped literary taste, and involving a lai'ge 
pecuniary responsibility. In January, 1847, somewhat more than a 
year after the primary steps were taken, appeared the first number of 
the Society's journal, under the title of the New-England Historical 
and Genealogical Register. From that beginning down to the 
present time a quarterly number has been issued without an omission, 
making twenty-three complete yearly volumes, and we are still 
advancing upon the twenty-fourth. The editorial conduct" and 
literary management of this publication has been under the auspices 
and direction of the Society, while by an order early adopted and 
firmly adhered to, all pecuniary burdens have been borne outside of 
our corporate responsibility.' The position to be occupied by this 

' The editors liavc been as follows: — Vol. I., the Rev. William Cogswell, D.D. ; Vol. 11., 
Samuel G. Drake, A.M.; Vol. III., Jan. No., Samuel Q. Drake, A.M., April, July ami Oct. 
Nos., William T. Harris, A.M. ; Vol. IV., Jan. No., Samuel G. Drake, A.M., April, July 
anclOct.Nos., Nathaniel B.Shurtleff, M.D.; Vol. V., Samuel G. Drake, A.M.; Vol. VI., 
Jan. and April Nos., the Rev. Joseph B. Felt, LL.D., July No., the Hon. T. Farrar, LL.D., 
Oct. No., Mr. William B. Trask ; Vols. VII., VIII., IX., X., XL, XII., Samuel G. Drake, 
A.M.; Vols XIII., XIV., Mr. William B. Trask, William H. Whitmore, A.M., and John 
Wiird Dean, A.M. ; Vol. XV., Samuel G. Drake, A.M. ; Vol. XVI., Jan. No., Mr. William 
B. Trask, April No., the Rev. Elias Nason, A.M., July No., the Hon. Charles Hudson, A.M., 
Oct. No., John AVard Dean, A.M. ; Vol. XVII , John Ward Dean, A.M. ; Vol. XVIII., Jan. 
and April Nos., Mr. William B. Trask, July and Oct. Nas., John Ward Dean, A.M. ; Vol. 
XIX., Mr. William B. Trask; Vols. XX. and XXL, the Rev. Elias Nason, A.M.; Vols. 
XXII., XXIIL, XXIV., Albert Harrison Hoyt, A.M. 

2 The publishers have been as follows : — Samuel G. Drake, Vols. I., II., III., IV., V., 
VII., VIII., IX., X., XII., XIIL, XIV., XV. ; Thomas Prince, Vol. VL ; Charles B. Rich- 
ardson, Vol. XL; Joel Munsell, Vols. XVI., XVIL, XVIII. These gentlemen arc all 
members of the society, and as no adeijuatc emolument can have come to them, the honor 
must be accorded to them of assuming these responsibilities as an act of generosity in the 
interest of New-England history. The remaining volumes, viz. : XIX., XX., XXL, XXII. , 
XXIIL, XXIV. have been published under the imprint of the Society, but without iiecuni- 
ary responsibility. A club, composed exclusively of members of the Society, has annually 
entered into a written guarantee to pay any deficiencies, but in case of any surjjlus of in- 
come from subscriptions, to pass it into the treasury of the Society. It would be highly 
creditable to each member of the Society to be a subscriber to the Register, and thus en- 
courage this method of preserving the wasting records of New-England history, and 
diminish tlie responsibility which now rests upon a few of his associates. 
3 



18 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICiVL SOCIETY. 

quarterly journal was altogether a new one ; like the Society itself, 
it was entering upon an untried experunent. No publication had 
occupied the same field, or undertaken the same work. The founders 
did not propose to spread upon its pages the small personal contro- 
versies and historical squibbing, wliich may give life and freshness to 
a daily or weekly sheet, but wliich are utterly worthless in the elucida- 
tion of the truth, and must soon fade, like an aroma given to the air, 
forever from human recollection. It was on the other hand to be a 
repertory of hitherto unpublished historical material, important in it- 
self, and essential to a good understanding of New-England liistory 
in its broadest and most comprehensive sense. If we cast our eye 
over the pages of these twenty-three volumes, we shall see with what 
unyielding fidelity the editors have carried out tliis original design. 
And when we consider the value and extent of these collections, and 
the gratuitous labor expended iqion them, we cannot repress a feeling 
both of gratitude and admiration. In these volumes we find the 
historical outline of two hundred and eighty-one New-England fami- 
lies, beginning with the emigrant ancestor, or with earlier genera- 
tions still, delineated with greater or less fulness, and in some cases 
brought down in numerous branches to the present generation. Here, 
too, are sketches of the lives of deceased members of this Society by 
our several historiogra})hers' and others, memoirs of the early fathers 
of New-England, the charters of cities and towns, abstracts of early 
wills, private joui-nals and notes touching important events, notices 
of historical discourses, of graduates of colleges, and of Indian wars, 
records of towns, churches and families, monumental inscriptions, 
private and official letters, colonial documents, memoirs of naval and 
mihtary expeditions, and a multitude of other papers germane to our 
great purpose, and entering into the very staple of our family and 

' The office of historiographer was created at the October meeting in 1855, and at the 
January meeting in 1856, Joseph Palmer, M.D., of Boston, was cliosen to the office, which 
he licld six years. Mr. William Blake Traslc, of Dorchester, was chosen in January, 1862, 
and lielil the office six years. The Rev. Dorus Clarke, 13. D., was chosen in January, 1868, 
and still holds Uie office, Charles W. Tuttle, A.M. having been appointed assistant in Jan., 
1870. It is tlie duty of the liistoriographer to prepare memoirs of deceased meml)ers of the 
Society, embodying the most important facts and characteristics, and tliey are deposited in 
the archives of the Society or published in the Register. It is intended at a future day to 
collect them into a volume, so that the Society shall have a complete Ijiographieal history of 
all its members. About one hundred and lifty of these memoirs have appeared in the Reg- 
ister since 1862. 



TWENTY-FIPrn ANNIVEESAEY DISCOURSE. 19 

local history. So rich and varied is tliis collection, and I may add 
unique in its character, that no scholar can safely undertake to write 
a history Avhose subject lies -svitlun the boundaries of New-England, 
whether it be of a state, or of a town, or of a family, who has not 
made a thorough and exhaustive study of these volumes, and who 
does not draw largely from them both for the warp and woof of his 
work. 

The whole fabric of life in New-England for a hundred and fifty 
years of its history, is here exhibited, in a fragmentary way indeed, 
but nevertheless more trutlifully and completely, because seen from 
more points of view and through less distorted mediums, than in any 
other work or series of historical collections. Letters, papers, pri- 
vate and official records are presented as it were fresh from the in- 
diting hand of the fathers, edited and annotated only so far as to give 
them theu' true position and relation to the scenes and events of which 
they are a part. In the study of these early documents, shorn neither 
of their homely simplicity or sturdy truthfidness, w^e may with a little 
enthusiasm, and a moderate gift of fancy, transport ourselves into the 
very heart of colonial times, clasp the hand of the patriarchs, walk 
in their quiet streets, sit at their frugal board, ponder their deep 
metaphysics and their profounder theologies, and marvel at their love 
of liberty and exclusive zeal, gradually working out in their mysteri- 
ous combination and conflict, the great problem of human freedom 
and complete, religious toleration. 

By the publication of the New-England Historical and Genealogical 
Register, our Society has thus preserved these pictures of the past, 
neither discolored l)y the stupidity, nor distorted by the ingenuity of 
any modern art. They are ciFectually preserved for all coming time. 
Deposited in the largest private and public libraries of the land, some 
of them may be fretted by the moth at one point, and others con- 
sumed by fire at another, yet in the calculation of chances, it is 
obvious that they will continue to exist, and offer their treasures at all 
successive periods of time to the student of New-England history. 

Early in 18G4 a Standing Committee was appointed by the So- 
ciety to c(jllect and preserve information in regard to heraldry in 
New-England. The appointment of this committee elicited a large 
amount of information on this subject, interesting in itself, and di- 
rectly tending to devclope and elucidate our family liistory. Before 



20 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEiyLOGiaVL SOCIETY, 

the termination of the year, it became apparent to the committee, 
that the l^est results would follow the printing of their material as fast 
as collected, and they undertook the publication of a serial, under the 
title of the Ilerakhc Journal, which they subsequently completed in 
four octavo volumes. In them the whole subject of coat-armor in 
New-England, especially in its relation to fiimdy history, is fidly and 
clearly developed. The nature of the evidence which determines the 
right to use arms is luminously set forth, and the volumes are richly 
illustrated with the engraved arms of over two hundred New-England 
families, Avhile the whole work is replete with historical and genealo- 
gical information. These volumes stand alone, and without a rival 
in the field to which they relate, and must be a standard of reference 
in all future time.' 

At different periods the Society has printed a large number of 
papers and addresses, making, in connection with the two works to 
which I have abeady referred, an aggregate of publications since our 
organization of not less than thirty octavo volumes. 

Such, Gentlemen, is the direct result of our labors in tliis single 
department in these twenty-five years of our corporate existence. 

But the office of an historical society is not so much the direct 
production of historical works in its organized capacity, as the fur- 
nishing of material and the stimulation of their production by its mem- 
bers, and by others who may come within the Ihnits of its influence. 

In our monthly meetings, numberless questions of local and fixmily 
history have been discussed, learned and elaborate papers have been 
presented and read, and in our quarterly publications, the du^ection 
which this Society desires to give to historical study in New-England 
has been unfolded in a clear, distinct and practical manner. From 
these sources an influence has gone forth far and wide, creating a 
taste and quickenmg a practical interest in our purposes and in our 
work. 

I This committee consisted of William H. Whitmore, A.M., of Boston; Abncr C. Goocl- 
ell, Jr., A.M., of Salem; The Rev. William S. Bartlet, A.M., of Chelsea; Augustas T. 
Perkins, A.M., of Boston, and William S. Appleton, A.M., of Boston. Mr. Bartlet served 
on the committee only for the year 1864. The other gentlemen have continued to serve till 
the present time, Edward S. Rand, Jr., A.M., was added to the committee for 1870. The 
i. ii, and Iv. vols, of the Heraldic Journal were edited l)y William II. Whitmore, and the iii, 
vol, by William S. Appleton. For the annual reports of the committee, see Register, vol. 
xviii, p, 215; xix. 184; xx. 184; xxi. 200; xxii. 211 ; xxiii. 223. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 21 

Among these secondary fruits of" tlie Society's efforts, is the pro- 
duction of gcnealogicid or family histories. 

During tlie two hundred and twenty-five years from the landing of 
the pilgrims in the harbor of Plymouth to the year of our incorpora- 
tion, Kscarccly anything had been done in this department. A few 
rudimentary attempts had been made, but they were hardly worthy 
tlie appellation of family histories. Most of them were very brief, 
covering from one to thirty pages, and were little more than a col- 
location of names, thrown confusedly together without order or sys- 
tem of arrangement. In all twenty-five of these rude attempts have 
come to our knowledge, published during the two hundred and 
twenty-five years anterior to the date of our incorporation, but the 
whole together do not equal in extent a single volume of our larger 
and more recent works in this department. 

But the stimulating influence of the Society during these twenty- 
five years, and the facilities for investigation offered by its library, have 
been followed by marvellous and almost incredible results. During 
this brief period there have been published in this country three hun- 
dred and sixty-five distinct family histories, most of them elaborated 
with great care, beginning far back in the early colonial times, reach- 
ing down through eight or ten generations, and each of them contain- 
ing the names and more or less personal history of from three thou- 
sand to eight thousand persons, all descended from the same emigrant 
ancestor. To spread such an array of names over a volume of 
several hundred pages, all woven together, each occupying its proper 
place with its appropriate history, presented at first what seemed to 
be natural and insuperable difficulties. In the progress of these years 
these difficulties have been gradually overcome, and we have approxi- 
mated step by step to a mode and system of arrangement, at once 
scientifically complete, and obvious to the comprehension .of a child . 

So many family histories have now been written, and the experi- 
ment has so often been tested, that we may regard it as a postulate, 
that any one of our families may trace its line of descent back to the 
emigrant ancestor, and gather up a trustworthy and valuable personal 
history of all who stand at the head of the several generations. 
There is pr()bal)ly no other people on the face of the globe, whose 
family history for two hundred and fifty years is so fully woven into 
the public and private local records, and in such a manner, that they 



22 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

may be easily brought forth, and, by a synthetic process, wrought into 
complete, harmonious and truthful narratives. We are told that the 
old Homans were accustomed to place the images of their ancestors 
in the halls of their private dwellings, that they might catch, even 
from the cold outline of brass and marble, the spirit that animated 
them in then- noble deeds. But we have a far richer inheritance than 
this. Even if the physical outline be lost, the life and character may 
be imaged to the mind with marvellous accuracy and clearness. They 
live in the traditions of a virtuous people, in the notes of a periodical 
press reacliing back through a hundred and sixty years, in the records 
and proceedings of our towns and of our schools, in the titles of land- 
ed property, in the wills and settlements of estates, in the corpora- 
tions of church and of state, and in the journals and prohfic corres- 
pondence of a social and intelligent ancestry. 

To gather up the memorials of those who have gone before us, to 
reconstruct their living portraits from historical fragments so widely 
scattered, is a work of time, of patience and of unremitting toil ; but 
once completed, the ancestral line, reacliing fiir down the vista of the 
past, will stand out clearly before us, the images of our fathers will 
tenderly live in our minds, and we shall reverently cherish their 
memories, as will likewise the generations to come. 

Et nati natorura, et qui nascentur ab illis. 

Whoever enters into these investigations, or peruses these family 
histories, beginning with himself, if he will, and tracing the golden 
current through all its myi-iad Avindings, will rise from the engrossing 
study, his sympathies touched at a thousand new points, liis whole 
natm-e lifted up to a higher and broader purpose, and himself a better, 
truer, nobler unit of the race to which he belongs. 

• "As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake ; 
The centre mov'd, a circle strait succeeds ; 
Another still, and still another spreads ; 
Child, parent, brother, first it will embrace, 
His neighbor next, and next all human race.'" 

It has been the aim of this Society from the beginning to encourage 
and promote the production of local histories, since they lie entirely 
within the line and scope of our general purpose. The tone and 

1 These lines of Pope have been slightly accommodated to then* present use. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 23 

character of New-England society has never been unfavorable to this 
department. A taste in this kind of literature prevails in oui- abound- 
ing anniversary addresses, memorial discourses, historical sermons and 
fourth of July orations; but of the latter it must be said, that, for 
the most part, they have been conceived in a strain of patriotic emo- 
tion and tumid rhetoric, quite too lofty for the companionsliip of 
simple and modest statements of historical truth. 

Earlier than the date of our incorporation the attention began to 
be directed to the preparation of town histories, and several able and 
scholarly works in this department had ah'cady been published. 
But a large majority of those that exist at the present time have come 
from the press during the last twenty-five years. The whole number 
of towns in New-England, of which histories have been written, is 
one hundred and thirty-seven.' Besides these there are a few meagre 
sketches, comprised in thin pamphlets, suitable for gazetteers, but in 
no sense rising to the dignity of town histories. Foi-ty-one only of 
the whole number had been published anterior to 1845, while ninety- 
six have appeared since the beginning of that year. Eight elaborate 
works in addition to these, relating to to\\ms of wliich histories already 
existed, have also been published, making in all, that have come to 
our knowledge, a hundi-ed and fom^ in the last twenty-five years. 

' The towns in Massachusetts, of which histories have been published, will be found in 
the Bibliography of Massachusetts, by Jeremiah Colburn, A.M. See Register, Vols. xxi.,. 
xxii., xxiii., xxiv. 

The towns in the other New-England states of which histories have been published, and 
which have come to our notice, are as follows : — 

Maine. — Augusta, Camden, Gardiner and Pittston, Gorham, Kennebunkport, Norridge- 
wock, Norway, Portland, Rockland and S. Thomaston, Saco and Biddeford, Scarborough, 
Union, Warren, AVinthrop. 

New-IIami'shire. — Acworth, Antrim, Bedford, Boscawen, Candia, Chester, Concord, 
Dublin, Dunbarton, Dunstable. Gilmanton, Hillsborough, Kcenc, Londonderry, Manchester, 
Mason, New-Boston, New-Ipswicb, Portsmouth, Temple, Troy, WaiTcn. Of the following 
brief histories have been published of about 50 pages, or less : Alstcad, Amherst, Andovcr, 
Charlcstown, Croydon, Epsom, Warner. 

Connecticut. — Colchester, East-Haven, Franklin, Glastcnbury, Greenwich, Hartford, 
Harwinton, Litchfield, Meriden, Middletown, Ncw-Havcn, New-London, Norfolk, Norwalk, 
Norwich, Simsbury and Granby and Canton, Tolland, Watcrbury, Windsor, Woodbury, 
and a few historical discourses relating to other towns, 

Veiimont. — Bennington, Cornwall, Danhy, Middkbury, Middletown, Montpclicr, Paw- 
let, Salisbury, Shoreham, Wells. There arc also brief sketches of Coventry, Lyndon and 
Salem. 

Rhode-Island. — Providence, Burrillville. 



24 N. E. IllSTOmC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

l)ut the influence of our Society may not only be seen in the enlarged 
production of town histories, but in the improved quality and char- 
acter of the works themselves. The soui'ces of information, which we 
have laid open, have led to greater thoroughness of research, and the 
criticisms offered have induced a wiser selection of material and a 
more convenient and scientific arrangement. A large part of these 
works are now supplemented by full genealogical tables of the early 
settlers, and personal incidents of the more prominent actors,' and 
thus furnish already one of the richest sources of information to those 
who are investigating the history of New-England families. 

But it has been the purpose of this Society to encourage the publi- 
cation of local history of the most general and various character. 
The number of works published, within the last twenty-five years, re- 
lating to centennial and other celebrations, the liistory of churches 
and of ecclesiastical bodies, of military service, expeditions and cam- 
paigns, and to other subjects in their local character, is far greater 
than those relating to corporate towns. Of such as properly belong 
to this class there are on our shelves, we presume, from five hundred 
to a thousand volumes ; and wdiile they are fragmentary, and often 
incomplete in themselves, they are in the aggregate invaluable con- 
tributions to the great subject to which they belong. 

In 1857 the publication of a serial was commenced in Boston 
under the title of the Historical Magazine, originating among mem- 
bers of this Society, and intended to encourage and fiicilitate historical 
studies, and to occupy a co-ordinate field, but to wdiich the pages of 
cm- New-Enii'land Historical and Genealoo-ical Register could not be 
spared. The first volume, inferior to none in the series, was edited 
by a member of this Society.' The magazine was afterward re- 
moved to the city of New-York, where it has been ably conducted, 
receiving large and frequent contributions from members of this 
Society. 

In 1858 an association was formed in Boston under the title of 
" the Prince Society," in honor of the Rev. Thomas Prince, who was 
" primus inter pares " as an antiquary in New-England a hundred anJ 
fifty years ago. The object of this Society Avas the publication of 
rare works, in print or manuscript, relating to America. Its officers 

' John VVai-a Dean, A.M. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNlTERSAllY DISCOURSE. 25 

and its council' have from the first all been members of this Society. 
It has issued from the press six quarto volumes, in part reprints and 
in part from 'original manuiscripts, in the accessories of paper and 
tyjiography of exceeding beauty, most of them annotated with great 
fulness and fidelity, and, as a contribution to New-England history, 
far the richest series of its kind that has appeared in the last fifteen 
years. 

The Collections of the Essex Institute, the publication of which 
was undertaken fourteen years after our organization, now in the 
tenth volume, and lying in the direct line of our investigations, con- 
tain large and valuable contributions from members of this Society. ** 
I make this allusion with greater freedom, since, in its historical de- 
partment, occupying the same field with ourselves, except in its greater 
limitation, there has always been between the members of this Insti- 
tute and our associates the most helpful and cordial sym})athy, 
together with a generous and undistinguishing pride in the achieve- 
ments of the one or the other in our common aims. 

There are many other works to which we might appropriately 
allude, here in New-England, among those who are descended of 
New-England stock scattered tlu-ough all the States of the Union, 
and on the other side of the Atlantic, wliich have been inspired, 
moulded and perfected, under the stimulating and energizing influ- 
ence of this Society. But I have doubtless said enough to indicate 
how broad and permeating is the influence of an institution which 
has a great liistorical purpose, important and of personal interest to 
all classes, alike to the citizen of the metropolis, and to the intelligent 
cottager among the hills and valleys of the interior. 

' The officers of the Prince Society at tlie present time, who together form the Council 
in which is vested the management of its affairs, are as follows, viz. : President, Samuel 
Gardner Drake, A.M.; Vice Presidents, John Ward Dean, A.M., J. Wingate Tliornton, 
A.M., and tlie Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M. ; Correspondi)iff Secretary, William II. Whit- 
more, A.M.; Recording Secretary, W\\\\ixirv S Appleton, A.M.; 7V-<?«sm»w, Jeremiah Col- 
burn, A.M. The volumes published are *' Wood's New-England Prospect," Committee of 
publication, Jeremiah ColDurn ; " Hutchinson Papers," 2 vols. com. pub. William 11. AVhit- 
more and William S. Appleton; " John Dunton's Letters from New-England," cotn. pub. 
William II. Whitmore; " Andros Tracts," 2 \o\s. com. puJ>. William II. Whitmore. 

2 Of the contributors wc note the following among our members : Messi's. C. M. Endi- 
cott, S. P. Fowler, M. A. Stickney, A. C. Goodell, Jr., Joseph B. Felt, Jacob W. Reed, 
Henry Wheatland, T. B. Wyman, Jr., E. S. Waters, Charles W. Upham, Joseph Moulton, 
Alfred Poor. 

4 



26 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

During the last year an association lias been formed in the city of 
New York, under the title of the New York Genealogical and Bio- 
grapliical Society. The President and First Vice President have 
long been honored members of this Society. We hail with great 
satisfaction the bu*th of this institution, whose aims and purposes are 
similar to our own. The cordial sympathy and ready co-operation of 
our associates will, I am sure, be extended at all times to its mem- 
bers, who are entering a new field, in its geograpliical relations 
contiguous to our own, whose ripened harvest stands ready to be 
gathered, but into which the reaper's sickle has not been thrust.* 

Within the last few years foundations have been laid for several 
important and permanent funds in aid of special departments of our 
work. Dr. Henry Bond, of Philadelphia, for many years one of our 
associates, who died in that city on the 4th of May, 1859, left a 
testamentary bequest to the Society of certain valuable manuscripts, 
and about a thousand copies of his great work on the history and 
genealogies of Watertown. The proceeds from the sale of this work 
are placed in a board of trust, and the income alone is to be expended 
in the purchase of books. AVhile tliis foundation, denominated the 
Bond Fund, is inconsiderable at present, when it shall be increased, 
as we trust it may be, not only by its own necessary accumulation 
but by the additional gifts of other members of the Society, it will 
be an instrument of unspeakable value and convenience in our future 
growth. 

John Barstow, Esq., of Providence, Rhode-Island, some years a 
Vice-President of the Society, established a foundation, known as the 
Barstow Fund, by the gift of a thousand dollars, the principal to be 

> The initiatory steps for the formation of this Society were taken on tlie 27th of February, 
1869, and its complete organization was effected on the 24th of April, of that year. The 
present members, we observe, are largely of New-England stock. The investigation of the 
early New- York families, of both English and Dutch origcn, will be a subject of great 
historical interest. Their manners, habits, aiid customs, the constitution of society, civil, 
social and religious, were all so different from those of New-England, and have been so 
largely modified by time, that their study will present a multitude of entertaining and sug- 
gestive contrasts. 

Irving painted the real or imaginary foibles of the early settlers with such graphic power 
by his marvellous wit and fancy, and his work is so universally read, that the current idea 
of their character is, we think, somewhat falsely colored. His pictures are so skilfully 
drawn, that it is difflcult for most minds not to invest the fiction with the reality of history. 
The antidote to any false impression, arising from this source, will be found in a thorough 
and full development of their family and local history. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 27 

kept invested, and the income to be exclusively devoted to the binding 
and preservation of books and manuscripts.' The moneys, thus de- 
ri\cd, have been annually expended agreeably to the restriction of 
the donor, and have been of great and essential service in the preser- 
vation of our library. 

The Hon. Ilcnry W. Cushman,' of Bernardston, a late Lieutenant 
Governor of Massachusetts, who died Nov. 21, 1863, devised to 
the Society his hbrary and manuscripts, consisting of about 600 vol- 
umes, together with about 200 copies of the " Cushman Genealogy," 
the latter to be sold and the proceeds permanently invested, and en- 
titled the Cushman Genealogical Fund, the income to be expended 
irf binding and keeping in repair the library by him devised, and in 
the purchase of genealogical works. 

On the first day of January, 1864, William B. Towne, Esq., of 
Brookline, made a donation of a thousand dollars,' to be placed in 
the hands of trustees, the principal and interest to be kept separate 
and apart fi*om other receipts of the Society, the income to be appro- 
priated to the publication of memoirs of deceased members. By order 
of the Society this foundation is denominated the Towne Memorial 
Fund : it now . amounts, with its accumulations, to over fifteen 
hundred dollars, and steps have already been taken for the publication 
of a volume agreeably to the design of the founder. 

The moneys derived from the creation of Life-memberships are 
funded, and the income only can be used for meeting the current ex- 
pcueUtures of the Society. This is denominated the Life-Fund, 
and now amounts to somewhat more than five thousand dollars, and 
is yearly accumulating. 

From these statements it will be seen that, in the brief years of 
<nu- liistory , five distinct foundations have been estabhshed, which have 
already proved of great service to the Society, and promise still richer 
fruits in the future. 

' Tlic amount was given in three instalments, $200 Aug. 2, 1860; f300 April 4, 18^2; 
$500 March 2, 1863. For restriction of this fund see letter of Mr. Barstow in the proceed- 
ings of the Society for March 4, 1863, 

* For memoir and engraved portrait of Gov. Cushman, sec Register, vol. xviii. p. 321 ; of 
Dr. Bond, vol. xiv. ; of Mr. Barstow, vol. xviii. p. 370. 

' Since the delivery of this discourse Mr. Towne, formerly of Brookliae, now of Milford, 
N.H., has added another thousand dollars to this fund, and he has intimated that he in- 
tends to add three thousand dollars more, making eventually his whole gifts to this founda- 
tion, $5,000. 



28 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

The memory of the gentlemen, who have established these founda- 
tions, will be ever gratefully cherished by the members of the Society, 
not only for their comprehensive appreciation of its aims and pur- 
poses, but for their generous gifts, which will be sources of peq^etual 
and unceasing aid and encouragement, renewing themselves and giv- 
ing fresh tokens of their value year by year, far doMTi in the genera- 
tions to come. 

I have thus in the progress of this discourse indicated the general 
outline of our liistory, and given an imperfect sketch of the breadth and 
extent of oiu" achievements in the line of historical study in these 
twenty-five years. It will be seen that from the beginning we have 
had a positive purpose, clearly and distinctly defined, and that this 
purpose has been quietly pursued with a patient zeal and an inflexi- 
ble will. 

Making the New-England families the centre of our investigations, 
and comprehending all history here and elsewhere that may illustrate 
our theme, our studies have awakened the warmest sympathies, the 
purest affections, and the noblest sentiments that belong to the human 
soul. From a small beginning our growth has been gradual and 
constant. Our influence has been yearly extending, going forth 
wave after wave, until the historical student has come fully to appre- 
ciate the dignity of our purpose, the felicity of our method, and the 
magnitude of our work. 

We enter to-day, Mr. President and gentlemen, upon our second 
quarter of a century, with a valuable library of New-England history, 
with several pecuniary foundations fairly initiated, with a wide ex- 
perience on the part of many of our members in the processes of his- 
torical investigation, and a thofough knowledge of the richness and 
the exhaustless resources of om' chosen field of study. 

The future work of the Society will consist in building up a super- 
structm-e that shall match, in all its essential qualities and proportions, 
the broad and solid foundation which has been most auspiciously laid. 

The method of the founders of tliis institution was original in its 
conception, seasonable in its announcement, practicable in its work- 
ing, and has laid open to our hand sources of inexhaustible historical 
wealth. We have only to go forward with the firm, distinct and 
unyielding purpose to complete what has been so wisely begun. 

The work to which the Society will naturally address itself with spe- 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 29 

cial earnestness, is the production of ancestral or family histories. The 
tlircc hundred and sLxty-five, known to have been published since the 
organization of tliis Society, make indeed a noble beginning. They 
offer great facilities to the future explorer in their copious informa- 
tion, and the best of them are models of structure and arranire- 
ment. But what has already been accomplished is but the opening, 
the mere entrance upon the vast work that stands ready to our hand. 
The number of early New-England settlers cannot now be accurately 
determined. There is very decisive evidence that previous to 1643, 
over twenty-one thousand persons had come to New-England, and al- 
though the tide of immigration was much diminished in after years, and 
some returned, we hazard nothing in the supposition, that there were 
not less than fifteen thousand distinct families established here ante- 
rior to the revolution in 1776.' While each of these famihes wiU 
doubtless in time find its liistorian, the completion of the whole 
will of necessity stretch through many years. There is probably a 
much larger number of these ancestral histories now in the process of 
compilation than have already been completed, and each new contri- 
bution w411 give greater facility for the preparation of the next. 
Under the encouragement and stimulating influence which the Society 

' The following from Capt. Edward Johnson's history of New-England, will throw light 
on the subject :— ■" But before the Author proceed any further in this Discourse, take here a 
short survay of all the Voyages by Sea, in the transportation of these Armies of the great 
Jehova, for liftecne years space to the year 1643. about which time EnglandhQgvm to indeavour 
after Reformation, and the Souldiers of Christ were set at liberty to bide his battells at home, 
for whose assistance some of the chiefe worthies of Christ returned back : the numl)er of 
Shi])s that transported passengers in this space of time, as is supposed is 298. Men, Women 
and Children passing over tliis wide Ocean, as near as at present can be gathered, is also 
supposed to lie 21200. or thereabout." Chap. 14, p. 31. 

As Johnson includes only fifteen years in this statement, lie does not appear to take into 
the account those who came to Plymouth, at least previous to 1628. If we reckon five per- 
sons in a flimily, then we must suppose that there had come over somewhat more than 400O 
families liefore 1643. In the Genealogical Dictionary by Mr. Savage, there are a little more 
than four thousand and three hundred different names, and as a large proportion of tlieso 
names represent several distinct families, we may safely conclude that there were not less 
than ten thousand distinct families in New-England in 1692 ; none, coming later than that, 
are included in the Genealogical Dictionary. If five thousand families came, during the 
next 84 years, then there must have been fifteen thousand distinct families in New-England 
in 1776. We do not offer this as any more than a guess founded on proI)al)lc evidence. 
Wc have made this estimate in order to give some idea of the vast work that remains to be 
done in developing the family history of New-England. But even if there were only as 
many families as are represented l)y the diflTeront names in the Genealogical Dictionary, 
there would then be twelve times as many family histories to be written as have already 
been published. 



30 N. E. IIISTOIMC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

will at all times impart, and the wholesome and friendly criticisms it 
will offer, larger instalments may be yearly looked for from the 
press, conformed to the simplest and best modes of arrangement, 
thorough and exact in incident, elaborated with greater care and 
with more of the graces of culture and taste. 

As in the past, so in the future, the Society will offer its counsel 
and aid, and freely lay open its gathered treasures for a fuller and 
more complete development of the local history of New-England. 
While there are not far from thii-teen hundred and forty incorporated 
towns within our chosen field, the history of not more than a hundred 
and forty of them has yet been published. Among the twelve hun- 
dred that remain to be written, there are rich materials, pregnant 
with incident, and glowing with interest, slumbering in records and 
traditions, unsurpassed, at least in value, by anything that has already 
come from the press. The story of border life, the struggles of our 
ancestors with climate, poverty, and hostile savages, the moral forces 
that have been at work, evolving and expanding into growth, and 
producing their best and ripest fruits in our own generation, will 
never be understood in their fulness and comprehension, until the 
history of these incorporated towns, with their personal narratives and 
family records, have been printed and brought within our reach. 
The enthusiasm which has been widely kindled through the example 
and influence of this Society has already called a multitude of explo- 
rers into the field, and the work will of its own impulse go forward, 
scarcely needing anytliing more from us, than the information wliich 
our arcliives can furnish, and that cordial sympathy and counsel, 
which no member of this fraternity will ever desire to withhold. 

The publication of ancient documents and records, and original 
historical matter, such as have already filled the pages of the 
Register, will continue to occupy an important place in the positive 
and direct labors of this institution. So long as rich material 
stands awaiting the press, it will be our paramount duty to put it 
into permanent and imperishable form. The new interest awakened, 
and which now pervades all ranks of society, has revealed an opu- 
lence of material which, twenty years ago, none but a second-sighted 
antiquary, who burrows far down beneath the crust of published history, 
would have believed to exist. The grandsire and the grandam, 
whose youth reaches well into the former century, arc no longer re- 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 31 

luctant to biing forth their cherished packages, yellow with age, 
thuuibed and worn by many generations in the family liue,- and let 
their sacred contents enter into the fixed staple of our history, where 
they will forever be safe from the accidents and vicissitudes of time. 
The material is offered more abundantly to-day than at any other 
period ; its quality is, if possible, superior in richness ; and it will fill 
a place in the circle of New-England annals, which can be supplied 
from no other source. Under the sifting process of a careful and 
judicious editorial scrutiny, the liistorical rarities, that are constantly 
coming to our hands, should be dealt with as the jewels that men 
gather from their rocky beds, and preserve uncut and in the most 
dehcate setting, that they may better carry with them the evidence of 
their genuineness, and the incidental and external testimony of their 
richness and value. 

This department, the publication of original liistorical documents, 
wliich has done so much for our good fame in the past, and which is 
so central to our great purpose, cannot be spared in our future work. 
It will go forward shedding a still brighter lustre upon our future, 
if so be it shall have the genuine sympathy of our associates ; the sort 
of sympathy, we must remember, which does not fade into a lifeless 
sentiment, but which crystallizes into a practical, material form, in 
wliich may be reahzed more than the potency of the old alchemists, 
and the honest labor of the printer may be turned into " green-backs," 
if not into gold. 

But the object, which stands foremost and asks the immediate and 
personal co-operation of each member of the Society, is the perfect- 
ing of what we have begun as a library of New-England history. 

The eight thousand volumes, which we already possess, most of 
them illustrative directly or indirectly of our great theme, are of un- 
speakable value : no language can adequately convey any just con- 
ception of the importance of this collection to the investigators of 
New-England liistory. But it is, however, not complete in any 
of its departments. There are some deficiencies even in the list of 
ancestral and town liistories. In local history generally, taken in its 
widest sense, there are myriads of volumes still to be added. In 
biographies the number of our titles is not probably one hunch-edth 
part of what it should be to render this department absolutely com- 
plete. And in some other branches the defects arc greater still. 



32 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

This library was undertaken, and has been brought to what it now is, 
without a single dollar to facilitate the difficult task. There are those 
who speak with disrespect of money, and bestow upon it opprobrious 
epithets, but, nevertheless, we have always found it a good angel when- 
ever we have desired to obtain an important or rare book. The 
volumes in our library may be regarded as tokens of affection to our 
great historical pm-pose. They have come floating in from our mem- 
bers near and distant, from authors, editors and publishers, and others 
in every part of our country, and even from the other side of the 
Atlantic. And this method of enlargement may be still more effec- 
tive than it has ever been in the past. Each member of the Society 
may properly regard this library as his own, and he may justly feel 
that his honor, his pride and his affection are involved in render- 
ing it absolutely complete in all its departments. And what is true 
of our associates, is true, in a scarcely less positive sense, of all who 
belong to the same kindred and blood. A great, comprehensive and 
complete library of reference in New-England history, touches the 
real interests of every New-England man, and of every descendant of 
New-England stock. And whoever gives a volume to this library 
does not alienate it from himself, but he invests it where he has an 
imperishable interest inherited from liis ancestors, and which he thus 
transmits to other generations. 

There are thousands of printed volumes and of manuscripts, 
scattered among our population, in biographies, sketches and re- 
ports of institutions, and in other forms, which have fully accom- 
plished then" present purpose, and can no longer be useful to their 
possessors. But when they are transferred to our great library 
to fill a vacancy in any department, they are at once elevated 
into a new dignity and importance, and will stand forever in their 
places to speak for the interests of New-England history. What has 
been done in the past fui'nishes the best foundation for a clear, pro- 
phetic vision of the future. And no year, we may confklently trust, 
will be permitted to pass, by any of our associates or by any lover of 
New-England institutions, without adding something to the growth 
and completeness of our library, which in an important sense belongs 
to every New-England man, and in wliich both his pride and his 
generosity are involved. 

But as we run our eye along down through the several decades of 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSAllY DISCOURSE. 33 

our history to the hinding of the colony at Plymouth, we observe a 
largenumber of historical volumes, of great interest in themselves, 
long since out of print, found in few of our private libraries, exceed- 
ingly rare and difficult to obtain. We are taught by the experience 
of these twenty-five years, that this class of books will not come wafted 
in to us on the tide of generous gifts. None of Lhem can be found 
without dihiicnt search, and most of them nmst be drawn from the 
collections of those who thrive on the sale of rare books. 

In our large membership there are two classes : the one give their 
leisure hours to the positive work of the Society, to the growth and 
improvement of the library, to the preparation of liistorical papers for 
the press, and a multitude of other duties on which the success and 
even the existence of the Society depend ; the other class appreciate 
fully the value and importance of our great puqjose, and their mem- 
bership with us is a living testimony of their sympathy and interest 
in our work ; but their time and their thoughts are properly absorbed 
in the gi'cat commercial, manufacturing, agricultural and other inter- 
ests, to wliich they have consecrated their lives ; and the wealth that 
comes to them they are generously distributing, and tlieir munificence 
already adorns our numberless public institutions. From tliis class 
of om- associates we cannot doubt that the Society will receive here- 
after testamentary bequests,' wliich shall be memorials to their histori- 

' Testamentary bequests and donations to the Society might be wisely made and the in- 
come applied to the following purposes : — 

1. For the purchase, binding and preservation of books and historical matter relating to the 

general, local or family history of New-England or any part of it. 

2. For the ])urcliase, binding and preservation of books and historical matter I'clating to the 

general, local or family history of Maine. 

3. For the pni-chase, binding and presei'vation of books and historicid matter relating to ^hc 

general, local or family history of New-Hampshire. 

4. For the ])ur('hase, binding and preservation of books and historical matter relating to the 

general, local or family history of Vermont. 

5. For tlic purchase, l)inding and ])reservatii)n of books and historical matter relating to the 

general, local or family history of Massacliusctts. 

6. For the purcliasc, binding and preservation of books and historical matter relating to the 

general, local or family history of Rhode Island. 

7. For the purchase, binding and i)reservation of books and historical matter relating to the 

general, local or family history of Connecticut. 

As history is constantly making, yearly additions to the library will always be necessary, 
both of that wliich relates to the present as well as to the past. 

Persons making testamentary bequests should use this form : — / give and bequeath to the 
Neio-England Historic, Genealogical Society, incorporated by the Legislature of Massachu- 
setts, in the year eighteen hundred ami foHy-fice, the sum of to be applied to the 
tiscs and purposes of the Society. 

If the Ic^^acy is to be for any particular object or department of the Society's work, let it 
be distinctly stated after the above Italicised sentence. 



34 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

cal interest, and permanent aids in carrying on our great work ; but, 
in the meantime, yearly appropriations by these gentlemen, phiced 
in the hands of the Library Coimnittce, would enable us to fill up 
the vacancies to which I have referred. Nothing but money can 
supply these grave deficiencies, can close up these gaps, and 
render the library absolutely complete m all its depaitments. And 
this end must in some way be achieved. It does not comport with 
the dignity of such a membership* as ours, or the wholesome pride of 
New-England character, that its great historical library should not 
be as complete as money, and zeal, and patient labor can make it. 
There should not be a line that has ever been printed,* wliich illus- 
trates New-England history, whether it be on a broadside, in the 
memoir of a humble mechanic, in an obscure tract or a more ambi- 
tious volume, or a topographical drawing, or a map of a state, or of 
a county, or of a town, of early or later date, which is not in its 
proper place on our shelves^ and on which the hand of the historical 
student may not be easily laid. And such a working library as this 
lies at the foundation of our great historical purpose, and of the 

' The number of Resident and Life-Members at the present time is somewhat more than 
four hundred and lifty. To secure the great purpose of the Society, the development of our 
family and local history, it is important that our membership should extend into every part 
of New- England. Two thousand members, composed of gentlemen of high standing and 
character, scattered widely over our whole liold, through all our cities and remotest towns, 
would give to us very important advantages in the prosecution of our work ; it would give 
us correspondents in every locality, and bring us near to the multiplied branches of our 
New-England forailies. This number is not large v/hen we consider the extent of our popu- 
lation. (In 1860, the population of New- England was 3,135,283.) There is a very large 
population of New-England descent living outside of the six Eastern States, who have the 
same interest in our studies, and who should be active members of the Society. The boun- 
dary of our work is not geographical, but is limited to New-England families, comprising 
all the generations, I)oth those who are now here and those who have gone into other states 
or countries. 

2 It is pertinent for all, who have a New-England ancestry, to remember that no volume 
or tract can be so insignificant as not to be of really great importance to the completeness of 
such a library as we aim to have. The memoir of an obscure person sometimes throws 
light, which could be obtained from no other source, upon subjects of very great historical 
interest. There should therefore never be any hesitation in sendmg a volume, which is not 
already in our library, because we fancy it to be of small value. In our ignorance it may 
be of very great value, not perhaps to-day, or in this decade or the next, but possibly half a 
century hence ; let it therefore be sent and abide its time. 

Space will be given in the library for the preservation of paintings, engravings and 
photographs having New-England subjects, ancient and modern ; among which we may 
specify portraits, views of churches, private dwellings, public buildings, water craft of all 
kinds, and whatever may illustrate our customs, habits, or progress in the useful arts, or 
may have any important historical siguiiicance. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSAIIY DISCOURSE. 35 

fichleveracnts that are finally to crown our labors. It livos to-day 
rapt up among the possibilities that are slumbering in the wills of our 
associates. Let us adopt as our motto, to be engraved, as it were, 
upon our constant and unchanging purpose, the old Latin a])othegm, 

Nil actum reputans, si quid superessst agendum, 

and let it be significant of our determination, that in the work of 
perfecting our library, we will not, as members of this Society, con- 
sider that we have achieved anything while anything remains to be 
done, that we will lay aside all pride, and all boasting of what our 
library is, until we have made it as full, as complete in all its 
departments as human energy and human means can make it.' 

From the view we have thus taken of our past history and our 
future work, it is obvious, that the Society should have a building,* 
not only under its own control, but which shall be its own property, 
where the library may be permanently and conveniently arranged, 
and where every facility may be given for the historical investigations, 
which it is our object to stimulate and aid. As this want is a fore- 
gone conclusion, no argument or elaborate statement is here demand- 

' In addition to the collection ot'a library, another aim of the Society, as set forth by our 
charter, is "tlie esta!)lishment and m:iiutcu:mceof .i cabinet." Not much attention has been 
paid to this very important department. Wc have a small collection, cnou.ih to form the 
nucleus of a cabinet of New-England antiquities. As wc shall hereafter have abundant 
room for their proper arrangement, it is important tint the members of the Society, and 
others, should send in such antiques as may aid in forming a cabinet of historical interest. 
The utensils employed by the aborigines in hunting, fishing, war, and in domestic life, are 
indispensable in the illustration of their history. And the same is true to some extent of 
the utensils employed by the early colonists of New-England. Our mode of life has been 
entirely changed. A collection of articles then in common use, and panh-nlarly character- 
istic of that period, would render our ideas of their life far more complete than they other- 
wise could be. 

2 The Society has occupied at difTerent times four apartments, as will appear by the fol- 
lowing statement. 

The books that were collected antl formed the nucleus of the lil)rary, remained in the 
possession of the several Directors until the 15th of January, \8iR, when, according to a 
note made at the time by Mr. S. G. Drake, they were deposited in the Society's room, 
which in the words of the record had Ijcen " leased of the city in the building recently erect- 
ed adjacent to the cast wing of the City Hall." The entrance to the building was on Court 
Square. The room was on the third Hat, having an area of about 17 iiy 22 feet, with three 
windows opening upon Williams Court. The light was good and the space was adequate to 
the wants of the Society at that period. It was suitably furnished with shelves and chairs, 
and the " round table," which still "adorns" our library, it having been purchased at auction 
for the account of the Society, by Mr. Drake, on the 23d of January, 1846. This table is the 
workmanship of the late ingenious poet and divine, the Rev. Juhn Plcrpont, A.M., and has 
thus lent its dignified presence and friendly service from the very foundation of the library. 
On the 4th of February the first meeting in this new room took place, and the monthly 



36 N. E. IIISTOEIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

ed. The whole subject is in the hands of an able and efficient com- 
mittee, and this most desirable object will doubtless soon be attained. 

I am happy to state that witliin the past week, and since my last 
sentence was written, a building has been purchased by our commit- 
tee, in a quiet and central location, and in all respects eminently 
suited to our purpose. Under the generous lead of our President, 
whose heart and hand are in every good work, followed by others not 
less generous in munificent gifts, a subscription has been opened to 
raise a sum, that will meet the whole expenditure in the purchase of 
the building, and in the changes that may be necessary to adapt it to 
our special use. And, if we shall all of us enroll our names with 
such sums as shall correspond to our means and to the importance of 
the object, the property will, in a few days, be transferred to this 
Society.* 

We stand to-day, gentlemen and associates, on the utmost bound- 
ary of our first quarter of a century, and are about to enter upon the 
confines of the next. We may well be lifted up with a laudable 
pride in the achievements of the past, and inspu-ed with a generous 
ambition to go forward in the noble, and I had almost said, sublime 
enterprise that opens to us in the future. The work itself a])peals to 
some of the best and finest sentiment that belong to oiu- nature. As 
descendants of New-England stock, we are knit together into one 

meetings continued to be held there. This apartment was in the occupancy of the Society 
about a year and eight months, at a rental of $r2o per annum. 

On the 6th of October, 1847, the first meeting of the Society was held in its second room, 
on the same court and nearly opposite to the former one, situated on the first flat in 
" Massachusets Block," the present site of the Sherman House. The entrance to this 
building was likewise on Court Square. The Society remained here somewhat more than 
three years, at a rental of $1.30 per annum. 

On the 1st of January, 1851, the Society held its annual and first meeting in its third 
room, then recently leased, on the third flat of what is now No. 5 Tremont St., in the present 
occupancy, as a law-office, of William A. Richardson and George White, Esquires. The 
area of this apartment is 18 l)y 24 feet; it was occupied seven years and nine months, at a 
rental of )^150, $176 and $187.-50 per annum. 

The Society took possession of its fourth and present apartment. No. 13 Bromfield St. (Ijy 
change of numbering now No. 17), in October, 1858, and held its first public meeting in it 
on the 20th of that month. It comprises the whole of the third flat, the area being 53 by 
18 feet. This room has for some time been inadequate to the wants of the Society, and 
about seventy cases of books and pamphlets have been deposited elsewhere. The rental 
was at first $250, then $300, $350, $400, and for the last two years has been $500 per 
annum. 

' For a full account of the estate in Somerset Street purchased of the executor of the 
late Dr. Solomon D. Townsend, see Appendix. 



TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 37 

great family, by the associations of the past, by tlie habits and cus- 
toms of the present, and by the mingling of kindred blood at a 
thousand points. Our ancestors, who settled on their arrival in the 
different colonies, belonged to the same class in England, were in- 
spired in general by the same motives and sentiments, and many of 
them were friends and neighbors in their native land. From these 
early settlements they sent forth emigrants in all directions. From 
Massachusetts Bay they spread into Rhode Island, largely into Con- 
necticut, and from all these the current set to the east, and the north, 
sweeping over the hills of New-Hampshu'c and Vermont, and then, 
like a mighty wave upon the shore, was thrown back upon itself, 
and, in the recession, has been returning to the points of departure, 
spreading out at the same time, eddying and curving in every direc- 
tion, until it covers the whole area of these six eastern states. This 
intermingling of the original stock' has given us a population, in 
pui'ity of Anglo-Saxon origin, not over-matched by any equal num- 
ber of people to be found on either side of the Atlantic. There are 

• There are few facts that strike the mind, at first blush, with more surprise, than the number 
of our ancestors of different blood, which may be traced in ten generations. As the increase is in 
geometrical progression and the ratio is 2, it is obvious that the numliers for the several 
generations would stand thus, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512. In ton generations we 
have 512 ancestors of separate or distinct lines. The blood of any one ancestor, ten 
generations removed, is to the whole as 1 to 512. But this is on the supposition that there have 
been no inter-marriages. The extent of the reduction by inter-marriage, could it be ascer- 
tained, would probably surprise us, as much as the rapid increase of the ancestral lines, and 
the dilution of lilood as computed from the nominal head of the family. The transmission 
of fiimily characteristics through numerous generations probably comes from education and 
personal influence or association, as much and perhaps more than from inheritance by blood • 

The mingUng of blood from so many sources suggests interesting questions of a hygienic 
nature. The average of health and longeviry is determined, doubtless in a large degree, by 
the great number of sources from which the blood is derived. Diseases, which other- 
wise might be transmitted, are, by the entrance of new blood, oftentimes modified, and even 
eradicated from the system. On the other hand, if a hereditary disease or a tendency to 
it be introduced, there is a reasonable chance, by the entrance of new blood, for the consti- 
tution to Ijcar up under its weight and finally to throw it off. There are, however, so many 
modifying circumstances involved, that no law as to results can lie established, until the 
whole subject has been more carefully and thoroughly studied than it has been in the past. 
It is to be hoped that, when the local and family history of New-England shaW be fully 
and systematically deveIoi)ed, our knowledge will approximate to scientific exactness on 
this interesting and important toi)ic. 

We beg to call the attention of the reader to the fact that the geometrical series, laid down 
in the early part of this note, does not express the whole number of our ancestors in ten 
generations irrespective of distinct lines of descent. The whole number is the sum of the 
Bcrics, omitting of course the first number. The sum of our ancestors in ten generations 
is therefore one thousand and twenty-two. 



38 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

probably within these six states, more than two and a half millions 
of persons through whose veins the red line of descent may be traced, 
in diifereut channels in each case, to more than two hundred of the 
early settlers. And while New-England has reduplicated herself, 
and has probably as many sons and daughters in the other states of the 
Union as she has at home, she nevertheless has this large population 
here upon the soil, bound together by extraordinary antecedents, 
woven into one great family by the strongest of human ties, associa- 
tion, education and blood. In other countries the culture of family 
history is limited almost entu-ely to fixing the inheritance of honora- 
ble titles, and of landed estates. Usage and law with us both render 
this motive inoperative and powerless. Our aims have a fiir deeper 
and wider scope. We desire not to be distinguished by titles or 
honors, unearned by ourselves, and wliich belong only to those who 
have gone before us. We recognize fully the principle, lurldng in 
the lines of the poet, 

Et genus et proavos, et quce non fecimus ipsi, 
Vix ea nostra voco. 

If there are any studies purely human, which tend to elevate and 
ennoble the nature of man, and lift it up to a truer and loftier type, 
they are such as lie within the domain of the family, where the gen- 
tlest and strongest elements of character mingle together, and are 
moulded more perfectly than anywhere else into a unity of feminine 
sweetness and manly dignity. In the culture of ancestral history, 
the affections and virtues that live and thrive within the precincts of 
the New-England home, are unfolded and expanded, running back, 
as it were through an electric cord, to the earliest generations, and 
down through numberless branches, gathering all within the sacrad 
folds of a filial love and kinship. And when the work which we have 
begun shall have advanced to anything like general completeness, when 
the great majority of our family liistories shall have been written, if 
the definition of the old Greek be true, that " history is philosophy 
teaching by example," we shall obtain, under the scrutiny of scienti- 
fic grouping and arrangement, other lessons of great value and im- 
portance. We shall be able to estimate, with far greater precision 
than we now can, the influences upon man in his physical and moral 
character, of climate in its dryness, humidity and temperature ; of 
locality, as on our rivers, on the hill-sides, and among the mountains, 



TWENTY-FIFTII ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 39 

in the country or in the city ; of education in the free school, under 
private tutorage, in the college, in classic or scientific courses ; and of 
a multitude of other particulars, that come within the purview of our 
historical investigations. We may go on, therefore, gentlemen and 
associates, in the work we have undertaken to do, with the conscious- 
ness at every step, that these investigations are expanding, mellowing 
and enriching our own characters, and, in their results, are transmit- 
ting a priceless legacy to others of the great New-England family to 
which we belong. And we may be assured, too, that at every stage 
of our progress, we shall have the benediction of our common Father, 
and the aids of the light and truth that come to us in the revelation 
of His Son, who never fails to bless all the good purposes and aims 
of man, and bring them, in the grand march of human events, to a 
noble and sublime result. 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



HISTORY 

OF THE SOCIETY'S ESTATE IN SOMERSET STREET, BOSTON. 

By the Kev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M. 

It is not an unintcrepting circumstance, that, in the closing days of the first 
Quarter of a Century of the Society's existence, it should ci-own all its other achieve- 
ments by the purchase of a valuable estate on which to make for itself a permanent 
" home," and to carry on more successfully its future work. The importance of 
this step in our progress had been before the Society for several years. It had been 
alluded to in the annual addresses of our presidents. Dr. Winslow Lewis and the 
lamented Andrew. The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder made it a special theme in his 
inaugural, and again referred to this want in a graphic period in his annual address 
of 1869. In furtherance of the object a resolution was moved immediately after the 
address of 1869, by the Rev. Mr. Slafter, for the appointment of a committee, 
" whose duty it should be to take immediate measures for procuring the means and 
for the purchase or erection of a building suited to our present and prospective 
wants." The committee appointed was the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, the Hon. 
George B. Upton, Winslow Lewis, M.D., Gen. William Sutton, M. Denman Ross, 
Esq., Charles O. Whitmore, Esq., William B. Towne, Esq., Nathaniel Whiting, 
Esq., the Hon. Edward S. Tobey, the Hon. George C. Richardson and the Hon. 
Otis Norcross. A few weeks afterward the committee was called together for consul- 
tation and the formation of a plan of procedure. The present wi'iter, though de- 
clining to be a member of the committee, was requested to be present at its meet- 
ings and to take part in its deliberations ; and, at the special invitation of the chair- 
man, he made a brief statement of the growth of the Society, and especially of its 
library and its prospective enlargement, together with the impracticability of 
accommodating, in a hired tenement, a library already numbering eight thousand, 
with a demand for its increase to fifty thousand vokimes. It was the unanimous 
opinion of the committee that a building not only controlled but owned by the Society 
would be necessary to its future prosperity and success. A sub-committee was in- 
formally appointed for selecting a building that would meet the wants of the Society 
and that could be purchased for a sum not far from twenty thousand dollars. Several 
houses were examined, but none met with entire approbation except the one in 
Somerset Street, which they finally purchased. This came into the market unex- 
pectedly, and to the knowledge of the Bub-committee only a week before the sale. 
The committee was immediately called together, and M. Denman Ross, Esq. was 



44 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL, SOCIETY. 

appointed to purchase, in their behalf, the estate at the auction, which was to take 
place on the 12th of March, 1870. The property was struck oflF to Mr. Ross at 
twenty thousand dollars, and on the 12th day of April following, the fee-simple 
was transferred and vested in the New-England Historic, Genealogical Society. 

As the liistory of this estate may doubtless be interesting to some of the members 
of the Society, we propose to give a brief outline of it, dating back as far as it can 
be traced. 

When Winthrop and his company came to Boston in 1630, they found the Rev. 
William Blaxton, a dissatisfied clergyman of the English church, in possession of 
the whole peninsula, and he had been in possession probably from five to ten years. 

Soon after the arrival of the colonists an apjxtrtionment of the lands was made to 
them, but no systematic record of transfers was kept for the first twenty years. A 
Book of Possessions is found, however, in the archives of the city of Boston, in which 
the estates of manj^ of the early settlers are described, and their boundaries very im- 
perfectly delineated. This book probably contains the record of the division of 
lands made as early as 1634, and is a sort of Doom's Day Book, into which some of 
the estates in Boston can now be clearly traced. 

In 1050 the western part of Boston, now included within Beacon, Tremont, Court, 
Cambridge and Charles Streets, was known as the New Field. Within its limits at 
that period there were but few dwellings. These were on the street beginning at 
the corner of Beacon and Ti'emont Streets, extending through Court Street into 
Sudbury, as far, perhaps, as Hawkins Street. Sudbury is the only street in the 
whole city that bore the same name in 1650 that it does now, and it then embraced 
a part of Court Street, its south-eastern termination being directly opposite the 
lower avenue to Pemberton Square. 

Let us see, then, who the owners of the estates bordering upon the New Field 
were, beginning at the corner of Beacon and Tremont Streets and proceeding into 
Sudbury Street. The first, according to the Book of Possessions, was John Coggan, 
the second INIr. Bellingham, the third Daniel Maud, the fourth the Rev. John Cot- 
ton, the fifth Edward Bendall, the sixth Robert Meeres, the seventh Robert Howens, 
the eighth George Hunne, the ninth John Newgate, and the tenth Henry Fane. 
There were dwelling houses upon most of these " possessions," with more or less of 
gardens, orchards and pastui'es, extending back upon Gentry or Beacon hill. 

Mr. John Newgate, at a very early period, came into possession of the lot on his 
southern boundary, belonging to George or Anne Hunne, and it was occupied by 
his son-in-law, Simon Lynde, who purchased the Howens lot, on the south of the 
Hunne property, of the sons of Robert Howens, in 1662-3 ; and at the death of Mr. 
Newgate, his father-in-law, Mr. Lynde became the proprietor of the three dwellings 
contiguous, and the lands, belonging to them, embracing in all nearly five acres. 
This estate comprehended the Society's property in Somerset Street, as we shall show. 
John Newgate was a merchant and a man of some importance. He became a free- 
man in 1635 ; was a selectman of Boston ; and a representative of the general court 
in 1638. He died in 1665. The valuation of his estate was £2496 : 13 : 11. He gave 
to his wife the use of his whole landed property during her life, but added, " if she 
should happen to marry," then she should have one third. To the poor he gave ten 
pounds, to be distributed by the deacons of the church. To his son-in-law Simon 
Lynde he gave, after the decease of his wife, the house in which he then resided, 
and likewise that which Mr. Lynde then occupied, with the orchards and lands 
adjoining, in all about four acres. At the death of Mrs. Newgate in 1679, as we 



APPENDIX. 45 

have already intimated, Mr. Simon Lynde }>ecame the owner of the three lots 
granted aeeordina; to the Book of Possessiona to Newgate, Ilunne and llowens. 

JSimou Lynde came to Boston as early aa 1050, and was then designated a Merchant 
of London. He carried on mercantile business in Boston and left a large estate lor 
that period. He died near the close of the year 1686. The valuation of his estate 
was a little less than ten thousand pounds, and he had before this diminished his 
estate by large gifts to his cliildren. His family plate was inventoried at £204, in 
weight 630 ounces. He left in " an iron chest," not less than $1000 in silver coin. 
He provided in his will that the expenses of his son Benjamin, then in Harvard Col- 
lege, should be paid " till he commenced Master of Arts," out of his estate before 
division, " his learning being an honour to the family." His prophecy tliat his son's 
education would be " an honour to the family " was eminently fulfilled in history. 
The young under-graduate of Harvard became a distinguished barrister and chief- 
justice of Massachusetts ; nor did the " honour to the family " cease with him. Uia 
eon, Benjamin Junior, Harvard College 1718, succeeded his father in the same high 
office. Mr. Lynde left an annuity, to continue during his wife's life, to Harvard 
College, of five pounds. He also provided, that, if any of his children were disatis-- 
fled with his will, and made any " Publique Contention and proceedure at Law," 
they were to be deprived of any portion whatever. He gave to his son-in-law, Mr. 
George Pordage and his wife, being his daughter, and to her natural heirs, his new 
and old house in Boston in which he then resided, and the house at the gate which 
he had purchased of the Howens, together with the " lands and grounds " belong- 
ing to both. This property was described by definite bounds, and was the south- 
easterly half of the homestead, and contained an area of between two and three 
acres. 

Mrs. Pordage continued to reside on this estate after the decease of her husband. 
Her daughter Hannah, her only child that lived to inherit property, married James 
Bowdoin, Esq., and the Hon. James Bowdoin, LL.D., Governor of Massachusetts in 
1785 and 1786, was her son. Mrs. Bowdoin's daughter Elizabeth married the Hon. 
James Pitts, and they resided on the estate which Mrs. Pitts had in part inherited 
from her grand-father Simon Lynde. Mr. Pitts soon purchased the rights of the 
other heirs, and the title of the property became vested in him. 

The Hon. James Pitts was a successful merchant, a gentleman of high respecta- 
bility, and a prominent citizen. He died in 1776, and left a large landed estate in 
Boston and in the neighboring towns. In the division of his property the same 
year, the eldest son, John, received the mansion house and garden, and a strip of 
land called the pasture, adjoining to the western side of the garden, the whole 
bounded easterly by land of the Hon. James Bowdoin, Esq., southerly by the land 
late of James Pemberton, Esq., deceased, westerly by land of John Tyng, Esq., 
and northerly by Southack's lane or court. 

On the 4th of May, 1796, Mr. John Pitts, of Tyngsborough, county of Middlesex, 
sold this estate, comprising about two acres and twenty-six perches, to James Tis- 
dale, of Boston, merchant. 

It will be observed, that the property falling to John Newgate by allotment, pro- 
bably in 1634, and that purchased by him and his son-in-law from original possessors, 
had remained by inheritance in his family to this date, Mr. John Pitts being de- 
ecended from him in tlie sixth generation. 

Mr. Tisdale occupied the mansion house till his death, and his executor sold the es- 
tate to John Bowers, of Somerset, county of Bristol, Mass., on the Slstof May, 1800. 



46 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

Mr. Bowers was a man of enterprise, and apparently purchaBed the estate "on 
speculation." He laid out a street thirty-six feet wide, extending from Southack's 
Court, now Howard Street, through the middle of it, and divided the land into seven 
portions lying on both sides of the street. The seventh division was on the west side of 
Somerset Street, beginning at the corner of AlLston Street and extending south to the 
rear of the buildings on Ashburton Place. The street laid out by Mr. Bowers was 
named Somerset in obvious allusion to the town in which he resided ; a name derived 
either from a county in the south of England, or the Protector Somerset, after 
whom is named Somerset House in London, where are the rooms, at the present 
time, of the Royal Society, and of the Society of Antiquaries. 

On the 22dof July, 1801, Mr. Bowers sold the lot No. 7, as above described, to Dr. 
Abijah Cheever. On the first of May, 1804, Dr. Cheever conveyed by deed to Daniel 
Davis, Esq., the southern part of the lot, or that now occupied by the Society's 
building and the brick dwelling house adjoining on the south. 

Up to this time no buildings had been erected upon the land, it having served as 
a pasture for at least a hundred and fifty years. Mr. Davis was a distinguished 
lawyer, and held the office of Solicitor General of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts from 1800 to 1832. His only surviving son is the distinguished Rear-.\dmiral 
Charles H. Davis of the United States Navy, and a corresponding member of this 
Society. In 1805, having decided to make Boston his residence, Mr. Davis erected 
on the land which he had purchased the year previous, two brick dwelling houses, 
one of which he occupied as a homestead for many years. On the 19th of May, 
1806, he sold the house contiguous to his own. No. 18 Somerset Street, to William 
Walter ; and on the I5th of November, 1833, Mr. Walter's heirs conveyed it to 
Robert Edes ; and on the 30th of June, 1834, Mr. Edes sold it to Messrs Charles 
Barnard and Abel Adams, of Boston, and on the 5th of May, 1835, they conveyed it 
to Solomon Davis Townsend, M.D. Dr. Townsend was a distinguished sui-geon, and 
successful physician in Boston for a full half century. The house on this estate was 
his hospitable and genial home for more than thirty-four years. He died on the 
19th of September, 1869. His son and executor, Thomas D. Townsend, of Boston, 
merchant, conveyed the estate to the Society, on the day before mentioned. 

The dwelling house on the estate is of brick, strongly built, four stories in height, 
having a front of twenty-nine and a deptli of forty-two feet and a fraction over, with 
a brick one-story extension in the rear of about twenty-one by thirteen feet. The 
whole frontage of the lot is a little more than thirty-eight feet, with a depth of over 
sixty-three feet, the whole area being 2219 5-12 feet. 

A committee consisting of Dr. Winslow Lewis, the Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, Jere- 
miah Colburn, Esq., Dr. Wm. O. Johnson and James F. Hunnewell, Esq., ap- 
pointed to recommend such changes as will be necessary to adapt the building to the 
purposes of the Society, have made a full i-eport to the building committee : but we 
need not here refer to this report any farther than to state that it comprehends a 
plan which will be carried out by the committee, for a FIRE- PROOF APARTMENT, 
where our invaluable manuscripts and rare books will be perfectly safe, and free 
from exposure to fire. , 

As the corporation had no funds that could be appropriated in payment for tlie 
property and to make the requisite changes in the building, it became necessary to 
open a subscription to obtain the amount needed. Authorized by a vote of the Society, 
this onerous duty was undertaken by the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder and William B. 
Towne, Eecx., aided by the Hon. George B. Upton. They have been received with 



APPENDIX. 47 

uniform cordiality, and their application has met a cheerful and liberal response. 
We need only add that our members are laid under lasting obligation to these gentle- 
men lor tlieir perseverance and energy in the discharge of tiiis duty. 

The names of the donors and the generous sums contributed by them, we give 
below as a record of permanent interest. 

The aggregate of these gifts constitutes an appropriate oll'ering to the Society with 
which to open the history of its Second Quarter of a Century. 

DONATIONS TO THE SOCIETY. 

Marshall P. Wilder,. . Residence,. .Boston, Amount, $1000 

George B. Upton, Boston, 1000 

George C. Richardson, Boston,. 1000 

Nathaniel Thayer, Boston, 1000 

William B. Towne Milford, N. H *1000 

William Emerson Baker, Boston, 1000 

Dexter H. Chamberlain, West Roxbury, 1000 

Cyrus Wakefield, Wakefield, 1000 

James W. Sever, Boston, 500 

Henry Smith, Boston, 500 

George B. Chase, Boston, 500 

John Cummings, Woburn , 500 

Edward Brooks, Boston, 500 

Jonathan B. Bright, Waltham, 500 

Albert Fearing, Hingham, 500 

Samuel H. Gookin, Boston, , .500 

Elbridge Wason, Brookline, 500 

John Foster, Boston, 500 

Alvin Adams, Watertown, 500 

Oliver Ames, .- North Easton, . .500 

Benjamin E. Bates, Boston, 500 

Henry L. Pierce, Boston, 500 

HoUis H. Hunnewell, Boston, 500 

Benjamin P. Cheney, Boston,. 500 

William S. Appleton, Boston, 500 

Nathan Durfee, Fall River, 500 

William Sutton, Peabody, 500 

Oakes Ames, North Easton , 250 

William T. Andrews, Boston, 250 

Richard Baker, Jr Boston, 250 

Josiah Bard well , Boston , 250 

James M. Beebe, Boston, 250 

Gardner Brewer, Boston, 250 

John W. Brooks, Milton, 250 

Alvah A. Burrage, Boston, 250 

Addison Child, Boston, 250 

Nathaniel Curtis, Boston, 250 

Ebenezer T. Farrington, Jamaica Plain, 250 

Warren Fisher, Jr Boston, 250 

Charles II. Guild, . . .East Somerville, 250 

Franklin Haven, Boston, 250 

William Hilton, Boston, 250 

James F. Hunnewell, Charlestown, 250 

James L. Little, Boston, 250 

Ariel Unv, Boston, 2.50 

Nathan Matthews Boston, 2.50 

E. R. Mud'rc, Boston, 250 

Lyman Nic'hol.s Boston, 250 

* To (he Towne Memorial Fund. 



48 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

Samuel R. Payson, Belmont, $250 

James Read , Boston, 250 

Royal E. Robbins, Boston, 250 

David D. Stackpoie, Boston, 250 

AVilliam Tliomas, Boston, 250 

Newell A. Thompson, Boston, 250 

Francis M. Weld, West Roxbury, 250 

William F. Weld, Boston 250 

Nathaniel Whiting Watertown, 250 

William Whiting, Boston, 250 

Charles O. Whitmoie, Boston, 250 

Edward Wigglesworth , Boston, 250 

Thomas Wigglesworth, Boston, 250 

Ebenezer Alden, Randolph, 200 

Samuel Atherton, Boston, 200 

Alfred II. Batcheller, Boston, 200 

Alexander Beal, Boston, , 200 

Benj. F. Burgess and > n . nrv/x 

Natiian B oTbbs, I ^^^^o^' ^00 

William A. Burke, Lowell, 200 

George O. Carpenter, Boston, 200 

Gerry W. Cochrane, Boston, 200 

Elisha S. Converse, Maiden, 200 

James W. Converse, Boston, 200 

Abner Curtis, East Abington, 200 

Ebenezer and Theron J. Dale, Boston, ; 200 

Francis Dane, Boston, 200 

Oliver Ditson, Boston, 200 

Percual L. Everett, Boston, 200 

Charles Faulkner, Boston, 200 

Jonas Fitch Boston, 200 

John S. Fogg, South Weymouth, 200 

William T. Glidden, Boston, 200 

George W. Harding, Boston , 200 

William S. Houghton, Boston, 200 

Frederick Jones, Boston, 200 

Josiah M. Jones, Boston, 200 

Francis M. Johnson, Newton, 200 

M. Day Kimball, Boston, 200 

Franklin King, ...Boston,.- 200 

Thoma^* Lamb, Boston , 200 

Amos A. Lawrence, ■ • • • Boston , 200 

Harrison Loring, Boston , 200 

Abraiiam T. Lowe, Boston, 200 

John K. Lyon Boston, 200 

A. C. Mayhew, Milfbrd, 200 

Nathaniel C. Nash, Boston, 200 

George H. Peters, Boston, 200 

William C. Peters, West Roxbury, 200 

Jonathan Preston, Boston, 200 

Henry A . Rice, Boston , 200 

Lewis Rice, Boston, 200 

Nathan Robbins, Boston, 200 

John P. Robinson, Boston, 200 

Stei)hen P. Buggies, Boston, 200 

Benjamin Sewall, Newton, 200 

Benjamin Shreve, Salem, 200 

David Sm iw, Boston , 200 

Solomon R. Spaulding,. • Boston, 200 

Daniel B. Stedman, .". Bo.ston, 200 

Caleb Stetson, Btwton, 200 

Benjamin F. Stevens, Boston, 200 



APPENDIX. 49 

Albert Thompson, West Roxbury, $-200 

Albert Tin-ell, Soutli Weymouth, '200 

Minot Tirrcll, South Weymouth, 200 

Edward S. Tobey, Boston, 200 

Thomas C. Wales, Boston, 200 

Samuel 1). Warren, Boston, 200 

Henry Austin Whitney, Boston, 200 

Jarvis Williams, Boston,. 200 

John Wooldredge, Lynn, 200 

John S. Wriirht, Boston, 200 

Eben Wri<rlit, Boston, 200 

John II. Wright, Boston, 200 

Edward S. Rand, Boston, IjO 

Subscriptions in aid of the Building Fund, or for the Endowment of a 
Publication Fund. 

Josiah G. Bachelder, Brookline, 100 

James IL Beal, Boston,. 100 

Aaron II. Bean, Boston, 100 

George B. Blake, Boston, 100 

Peter Butler, Boston,, 100 

John W . Candler, Bnx)kline, 100 

Thomas E. Chickering, Boston, 100 

Gardner Chilson, Boston, 100 

William Claflin, Boston,. 100 

Dorus Clarke, Boston,. 100 

James W. Clark,. Framingham, 100 

William W. Clapp, Boston, 100 

Samuel Crocker Cobb, Boston 100 

William E. Coffin, Boston, 100 

James C Converse, Boston, 100 

John N. Dennison, Boston, 100 

Daniel Denny, Boston, 100 

George P. Denny, Boston, 100 

Samuel Downer, Boston, 100 

William Endicott. Jr.. Boston, luo 

Ezra Farnsworth, Boston, 00 

Charles L. Flint, Boston, 100 

Charles W. Freeland, Boston, 100 

Andrew T. Hall, Boston, 100 

Charles B. Hall Boston, 100 

Leonard B. Harrington Salem, |W 

James Ilaughton, Boston, |00 

John Heard, Boston, 100 

John Hill Boston, 100 

Peter Ilobart, Jr. Boston, 100 

Almon D. Hodges, Boston, 100 

Samuel Johnson, Boston, 100 

Edward Kiddei-, Wdmnigton, N. C 100 

Geoi-ire II. Kuhn, Boston, 100 

William M. Lathrop, Boston, |00 

Henry Lee, Boston, 100 

John Joseph May, Boston,. n)0 

Charles Merriam Boston,. }00 

Hugh Montgomery, Boston,. jOO 

B( niamin F. Noursc, Boston,. Jt^u 

AVilliam Parsons, Boston, *'" 

Augustus T. Perkins,. Boston, 00 

William Perkins, Boston, JW 

Avery Plumer, Boston, i '" 

Thomas I). Quiuey, Boston, 100 

7 



50 N. E. IIISTOKIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

Alexander H. Rice,. Boston, $100 

Samuel B. Rindge, Boston, 100 

Joseph S. Ropes, Boston, 100 

M. Denman Ross, Boston, 100 

John II . Sheppard, Boston, 100 

William B. Spoonei*, Boston, 100 

John G. Tappan,. Boston,. . 100 

George L. Thayer, Boston, 100 

Supply C. Thwing, Boston, 100 

Edmund P. Tileston, Boston, 100 

William W. Tucker, Botson, 100 

John S. Tyler, Boston, 100 

Samuel H". Walley, Boston, 100 

Philip II. Wcntworth, Danvers, 100 

Ephraim P. Whitman, Cambridge, 100 

Elisha T. Wilson, Boston,. 1 100 

George S. Winslow, Boston 100 

Note. — The aggregate of the foregoing subscriptions is ^'43,150. Other snl)Scription3 
arc promised. For a full account the reader is referred to the Annual Proceedings of the 
Society, to be pubhshed m January, 1871. 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 

FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN JANUARY, 1845, TO JUNE, 1870. 

[Compiled by John Ward Dean, A. M.] 

Presidents. 

*Charles Ewer, Esq., of Boston, Jan. 1845, to Jan. 1850 

*The Rev. Joseph Barlow Felt, LL.D., of Boston, " 1850, to " 18.53 

The Hon. William Whitin<?, A.M., of Roxbury, " 1853, to " 18.58 

Samuel Gardner Drake, A.M. , of Boston, " 1858, to " 1859 

(\)1. Almon Danforth Hodges, of Roxbury, ■ " 1859, to " 1861 

WinslowLewi8,M.D., of Boston, " 1861, to " 1806 

*Tlie Hon. John Albion Andrew, LL.D, of Boston, " 1866, to Oct. 1867 

The Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder, of Boston, " 1868. 

Vice-Presidents. 

♦Lemuel Shattuck, Esq., of Boston, Jan. 1845, to Jan. 18.50 

The Rev. Lucius Robinson Pai^e, D.D., of Cambridge, ... " 1850, to " 1851 

The Hon. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff,M.D., of Boston, " 1851, to " 1853 

The Hon. Timothy Farrar, LL.D., of Boston, " 1853, to " 18.58 

*The Hon. William Willis, LL.D., of Portland, Me Feb. 1855, to " 1859 

*The Hon. Noah Martin, M.D., of Dover, N.H '' 1855, to " 1859 

*The Rev. John Wheeler, D.D., of Burlington, Vt " 1855, to " 1859 

*The Hon. Wm. Read Staples, LL.D., of t^rovidence, R.I. " 1855, to " 1859 

*The Hon. Nathaniel Goodwin, of Hartford, Ct " 1855, to May 1855 

The Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D., of New Haven, Ct Aug. 1855, to Jan. 1859 

The Hon. Francis Brinley, A.M., of Boston, Jan. 1858, to " 1859 

The Hon. Charles Hudson, A.M., of Lexington, " 1859, to " 1861 

TheHon. John Appletbn, LL.D., of Bangor, Me " 1859, to . " 1865 

*The Hon. Samuel Dana Bell, LL.D., of Manchester, N.H. " 1859, to July 1868 

Henry Clark, Esq., of Poultney, Vt " 1859, to Jan. 1867 

*John Barstow, Esq., of Providence, R.I " 1859, to Mar. 1864 

The Rev. Frederick W. Chapman, A.M., of Ellington, Ct. " 1859, to Jan. 1865 

*The Rev. Martin Moore, A.M., of Boston, " 1861, to " 1866 

*Usher Parsons, M.D., of Providence, R.I Sept. 1864, to Dec. 1868 

The Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., of Portland, Me Jan. 1865. 

The Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe, D.D. , of Hartlbrd, Ct " 1865, to Jan. 1869 

The Hon. George Bruce Upton, of Boston, " 1866. 

The Hon. Hampden Cutts, A.M., of Brattleboro', Vt " 1867. 

The Hon. Ira Perley, LL.D., of Concord, N.H " 1869. 

The Hon. John Russell Bartlett, A.M. , of Providence, R. I. " 1869. 
The Hon. William A. Buckingham, LL.D., of Norwich, Ct. " 1869. 

Honorary Vice-Presidents. 

The Hon. Millard Fillmore, LL.D., Buffalo, N. Y Feb. 1855. 

*The Hon. Lewis Cass, LL.D., of Detroit, Mich " 18.55, to June 1866 

*The Hon. Klijah Ilayward, A.B., of Columbus, O " 18.55, to Sept. 1864 

The Hon. John Wentwoith, LL.D., of Chicago, 111 " 1855. 

* Deceased. 



52 N. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

*Thc Rev. John Laurin Blake, D.D., of Orange, N. J Jan. 1856, to July 1857 

*The lion. Samuel Bieck, of Philatlelphia, Pa " 1856, to Sept. 1862 

*SL'hastian Ferris Streeter, A.M., of Baltimore. Md " 1856, to Aug. 1864 

Edward Kidder, Esq. , of Wilmington, N. C " 1856, to Jan. 1863 

The Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D., of Charleston's. C " 1856, to " 1863 

*The lion. William Ballard Smith, A.B., of Cannelton, Ind. " 1856, to Oct. 1866 

Cyrus Woodman, A.M., of Mineral Point, Wis " 1856, to Jan. 1864 

TheRt.Rev.HenryW.Lee,D.D.,LL.D.,ofDavenport,Ia. " 1856. 

*Andreve Randall, Esq., of San Francisco, Cal " 1856, to July 1856 

*The Hon. Joseph C. Hornblower, LL.D. , of Newark, N. J. " 1858, to June 1864 

♦The Hon. Wm. Darlington, M.D , LL.U., W.Che.ster,Pa. " 1863, to April 1863 

♦Nathaniel Chauncey, A.M., of Philadelphia, Pa June 1863, to Feb. 1865 

The Hon. Increase A. Lapham, LL.D., of Milwaukee, Wis. Jan. 1864. 

The Hon. George P. Fisher, A.B., of Washington, D. C. . " 1864. 

S. Alofsen, Esq\, of Jersey City, N.J " 1865. 

The Hon. John H. B. Latrobe, of Baltimore, Md " 1865. 

William Duane, Esq., of Philadelphia, Pa "^ 1866. 

The Rev. William G. Eliot, D.D., of St. Louis, Mo " 1867. 

The Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle, D.D., of Crawford-sville, Ind. . " 1868. 

The Hon. Thomas Spooner, of Reading, O " 1868. 

Corresponding Secretaries. 

Samuel G. Drake, A.M., of Boston, Jan. 1845, to Jan. 1850 

The lion. Nathaniel B.Shurtleff, M.D. , of Boston, " 1850, to " 1851 

Samuel G. Drake, A.M., of Boston, " 1851, to " 1858 

The Rev. Samuel H. Riddel, A. B., of Boston, " 1858, to " 1859 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston, " 1859, to " 1862 

The Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee, A.M., of Roxbury, " 1862, to " 1865 

The Rev. Henry M. Dexter, D.D., of Roxbury, " 1865, to " 1867 

The Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M., of Boston, " 1867. 

Recording Secretaries. 

John Wingate Thornton, A.M., of Bosttm, Jan. 1845, to Mar. 1840 

The Rev. Samuel H. Riddel, A.B., of Boston, April 1846, to Jan. 1851 

♦Charles Mayo, of Boston Jan. 1851, to " 1856 

The Hon. Francis Brinlcy, A.M., of Boston, " 1856, to " 1857 

David Pulsifer, A.M., of Boston, " 1857, to Aug. 1857 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston Aug. 1857, to Jan. 1858 

The Rev. Wm. M. Cornell, M.D., D.D., LL.D., of Boston, Jan. 1858. to " 1859 
The Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee, A.M., of North Cambridge, " 1859, to " 1862 

Edward Franklin Everett, A.M., of Charlestown, " 1862, to " 1863 

Edward Sprague Rand, Jr., A.M., of Dedham " 1863, to " 1870 

Samuel H. VVentworth, A.M., of Boston, " 1870. 

Treasurers. 

William Henry Montague, of Boston, Jan. 1845, to Jan. 1851 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston, 

Isaac Child, of Boston, 

*The Hon. George W. Messinger, of Boston, 

William Blanchard Towne, Esq., of Milford, N.H 

Historiographers. 

Joseph Palmer, M.D., of Boston, Jan. 1856, to Jan. 1863 

William B. Trask, of Dorchester, " 1862, to " 1868 

TheRev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., of Boston, " 1868. 

Librarians. 

J. Wingate Thornton, A.jM ., of Boston, April 1845, to Jan. 1846 

EdmuutI Bachelder Dearborn, of Boston, Jan. 1846, to " 1849 



1851, 


to ' 


' 1855 


1855, 


to 


' 1857 


1857, 


to 


' 1860 


1860, 


to ' 


' 1861 


1861. 







APPENDIX. 53 

David Pulsifer, A.M. , oF Boston, Jan. I81i», to Jan. 18.31 

Tlioiims iJHlows Wyman, Jr.,oi"€harIcstown, " 1851, to " 18.52 

W illiniii lUake Trask, of Durcliostor, " 1852, to Aug. 1854 

The Kev. Luther Farnliaui, A.M., of lioston, Aug. 1854, to July 1856 

Thomas B. VVynian, Jr., of Charlestown, Sept. 1856, to Jan. 1858 

Edward Holden, of Koxbury Jan. 1858, to " 1859 

William Blake Trask, of Dorchester, " 1859, to " 1861 

John II. yiieppard, A.M., of Boston, " 1861, to " 1869 

William James Foley, of Boston,. " 1869. 

Directors. 

♦Charles Ewer, of Boston, Jan. 1845, to Jan. 1850 

*Lemud Shattuck, of Boston, " 1845, to " 1850 

Samuel U. Drake, A.M., of Boston, " 1845, to " 1850 

J . \V ingate Thornton , A .M . , of Boston , " 1845, to Mar. 1846 

William 11. Montague, of Boston, " 1845, to Jan. 1851 

The Kev. Samuel ti. lliddel, A.B., of Boston, April 1846, to " 1851 

*Thc Kev. Joseph B. Felt, LL.D., of Boston, Jan. 1850, to " 1853 

The Rev. Lucius R. Paige, D.D., of Cambridge, " 1850, to " 1851 

The Hon. Nathaniel B. Shurtk-fl", M.D., of Boston, " 1850, to " 1853 

Samuel G. Drake, A.M., of Boston, " 1851, to " 18.59 

*Charles Mayo, of Boston, " 1851, to " 1856 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, " 1851 , to " 1855 

The lion. William Whiting, A.M., of Koxbury,. " 1853, to " 1858 

The lion. Timothy Farrar,l.L.D. , of Boston, " 1853, to " 1858 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston, " 18.55, to " 1857 

The Hon. Francis Brinley, A.M., of Boston, " 1856, to " 1857 

David Pul.sifer, A.M., of Boston, " 1857, to Aug. 1857 

Isiiac Child, of Boston, " 18.57, to Jan. 1860 

John Ward Dean. A.M., of Boston, Aug. 1857, to " 1858 

The Hon. Francis' Brinley, A.M., of Boston, Jan. 1858, to " 1859 

The Rev. Samuel H. Riddel, A.B., of Boston, " 1858, to " 1859 

The Rev. Wm. M. Cornell, M.D., D.D., LL.D., of Boston, " 18.58, to " 18.'->9 

Col. Almon D. Hodges, of Roxbury, " 1859, to " 1801 

The Hon. Cliarles Hudson, A.M., of Boston, " 1859, to " 1861 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston, " 1859. 

The Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee, A.M., of Boston, " 18.59, to Jan. 180T 

*The Hon. George W. Messinger, of Boston, " I860, to " 1861 

Wiuslow Lewis, M.D., of Bo.ston, " 1861. 

*The Rev. Martin Moore, A..M., of Boston, " 18()1. to Jan 1866 

William B. Towne, Esq., of Brookline, " 1861. 

John 11. ShepiKird, A.M., of Boston, July 1861. 

Edward F. Everett, A.M., of Charlestown, Jan. 1862, to Jan. 1863 

*TI)C Rev. Jose^^h B. Felt, LL.D., of iSalem, " 1862, to Sept. 1869 

The Hon. William Whiting, A.M. , of Koxbury, " 18()2. 

Samuel G. Drake, A.M., of Boston, " 1^62. 

Col. Almon D. Hodges, of Roxbury, " 1862. 

William B. Trask, of Dorchester, " i8()2. 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, " 1862. 

Jeremiah Colburn, A.M., of Boston, " 1862. 

William Reed Deane, of Brookline " 1862. 

Jo.seph Palmer, M.D., of Boston " 1862. 

*Thc Hon. George W. Messinger, of Boston,. " 1862, to Jan. 1868 

*John Barstow, of Providence; R.I " 1862, to Mar. 1864 

Edward Sprague Rand, Jr., A.M., of Dedham, " 1863. 

The Rev. Horatio Alger, Jr., A.B., of Cambridge, Aug. 1863, to Jan. 1865 

The R<v. Henry M. Dexter, D.D., of Roxbury, Jan. 18(i4, to " 1867 

William H. WhitniDre, A.M., of Boston, Feb. 1864. 

The Rev. Frederic W. Holland, A.M., of Cambridge, .... :May 18(U, to Jan. 1867 

The Rev. Washington Gill)ert, A.M., of Longwoo(], Aug 18()5, to " 1866 

* fhe Hon. Jolni A. Andrew, LL.D., of Boston, Jan. 1866, to Oct. 1867 

The Hon. George Bruce Upton, of Boston, " 1866. 



54 



N. E. mSTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M., of Boston, Jan. 

John Merrill Bradbuty, of Boston, " 

Charles W^esley Tuttlc, A.M., of IBoston, " 

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston, " 

The Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., of Boston, " 

William J. Foley, of Boston, " 

Henry Edwards, E^q., of Boston, " 

Col. Albert H. Hoyt, A.M., of Bof^ton, " 

The Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee, A.M., of Bo.«ton, " 

*The Hon. George W. Messin2:er, of Boston " 

The Hon. Edward S. Tobey, A.M. , of Boston, " 

Samuel Hidden Wentwoi'th, A.M., of Boston, " 

Committee on Pcblicatiox. 

*Charle8 Ewer, Esq., of Boston, Mar. 

The Hon. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D., of Boston, " 

The Rev. Samuel H. Riddel, A.B., of Boston, " 

*David Hamblen, of Boston, Jan. 

♦William T. Harris. A.M., of Cambridge, Feb. 

*The Rev. Joseph B. Felt, LL.D.. of Boston, Jan. 

The Hon. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D., of Boston, " 

The Rev. Lucius R. Paige, D.D., of Cambridge, " 

Charles Deane, A.M., of Boston " 

J. Wingate Thornton, A.M., of Boston, " 

*William T. Hai-ris, A.M., of Cambridge, " 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, Oct. 

The Hon. Timothy Farrar, LL.D., of Boston, Nov. 

William B. Trask, of Dorchester, April 

♦Charles Mayo, of Boston, Oct. 

*The Rev. William Jenks, D.D., LL.D., of Boston, " 

Lyman Mason, A M. , of Boston, " 

John Ward Dean, A.M., of Boston, Dec. 

William Reed Deane, of Brookiine, " 

♦Lemuel Shattuck, of Boston, " 

The Rev. Alonzo Hall Quint, D.D., of Jamaica Plain,. . . . Oct. 

James Spear Lsjring, of Boston, ■ " 

The Hon. Francis Br in ley, A.M., of Boston, " 

Charles H. Morse, of CamJn-idgeport, " 

William H. Whitmore, A.M., of Boston, " 

The Hon. Timothy Farrar, LL.D., of Boston, " 

William B. Trask, of Dorchester, " 

The Hon. Charles Hudson, A.M., of Lexingtcm, Nov. 

The Rev. Elias Nason, A.M., of Exeter, N" H " 

♦George Winrate Chase, of Haverhill, " 

William H. Whitmore, A.M., of Boston, Oct. 

William S. Appleton, A.M., of Boston, " 

The Rev. Henry M. Dexter, D.D., of Roxbury, " 

The Rev. Elias Nason, A.M., of North Billerica, " 

William B. Towne, Esq., of Brookiine, Nov. 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, Oct. 

Col. Albert H. Hoyt, A.M., of Boston, " 

COMMITTEI: ON DONATIONS AND EXCHANGES. 

James Spear Loring, of B3ston, May 1850, to Jan. 1852 

Charles J. F. Binney, of Boston, " 18.50, to, " 1852 

The Hon. Amasa Walker, LL.D., of North Brookfield, . • . Jan. 18.52, to " 18.54 

*John Goodwin Locke, of Boston, " 1852, to " 1853 

James Spear Loring. of Boston, " 1853, to " 1854 

Committee on toe Library. 

Isaac Child, of Boston, Jan. 1852. to Jan. 18.56 

♦Artemas Simonds, of Boston, " 1852, to Oct. 1854 



1867. 






1867, 


to Jan. 


1870 


1867. 






1868. 






1868. 






1869. 






1869. 






1869. 






1869. 






1869, 


to April 


1870 


1870. 






1870. 






1847, 


to Jan. 


1851 


1847, 


to " 


1849 


1847, 


to " 


1851 


1849, 


to Oct. 


1855 


1849, 


to " 


1849 


1850, 


to July 


1852 


1850, 


to Jan. 


1851 


1850, 


to " 


1851 


1851, 


to Oct. 


1851 


1851, 


to Mar. 


1852 


1851, 


to Oct. 


1851 


1851, 


to " 


1855 


1851, 


to Dec. 


1854 


1852 


to Oct. 


1853 


1852, 


to " 


1853 


1853, 


to " 


1858 


1853, 


to Dec. 


1854 


1854. 






1854, 


to Oct. 


1856 


1854, 


to " 


1856 


1855, 


to " 


1856 


1855, 


to " 


1856 


1856, 


to " 


1858 


18.56, 


to " 


18.58 


18,56, 


to Nov. 


1861 


1857. 


to Oct. 


1858 


1858, 


to " 


1867 


1861, 


to " 


1863 


1861, 


to " 


1861 


1861, 


to " 


1862 


1862. 






1863. 






1864, 


to Oct. 


1867 


1865, 


to " 


1868 


1865. 






1867 


to Oct. 


1868 


1867. 







APPENDIX. 



55 



Thomas B. Wyman, Jr., of Charlestown, Jan. 1856, to Jan. 1858 

Charles 11. Morso, of Cumbridireport, " 1856, to " 1857 

Wilhaiu II. Whituiore, A.M., of Boston, " 1H56, to " 1857 

William 13. Trask, of Dorchester, " 1856, to " 1858 

The ilev. Luther Farnham, A.M., of Boston, " 1856, to July 1856 

Dean Dudley, of Boston, Oct. 1856, to Jan. 1858 

The Kev. Calel> D. Bradlee, A.M., of North Cambridge, . . Jan. 18.57, to " 1858 

♦Sylvester Bliss, of Koxhury, " 1857, to " 1858 

Thomas J. Whittemore, of Cambridge, " 1858, to " 1859 

William Makei)eace, of Boston, " 1858, to " 1859 

Horace G. Barrows, xM D., of Boston, " 1858, to " 18.59 

Edward S. Rand, Jr., A.M., of Dedham, " 1858, to " 1859 

Edward llolden, of Koxbury " 1858, to " 1859 

The Kev. Alonzo II. Quint, D.D., of Jamaica Plain, " 1859, to " 1861 

Samuel Burnham, A.M., of Jamaica Plain, " 1859, to " 1861 

Thonr.is Waterman, of Boston, " 1859, to " 1863 

J. Gardner White, A.M., of Boston, " 18.59, to " 1861 

William B. Trask, of Dorchester, " 1859, to " 1861 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, " 1861, to " 1862 

The Kev. James Thurston, A.M., of Belmont, " 1861, to " 1862 

Williams. Appletou, A.M., of Boston, " 1861, to " 1864 

John II. Shei)pard, A.M., of Boston, " 1861, to " 1869 

Jeremiah Colburn, A.M., of Brookline, " 1862. 

*The Kev. Aimer JMorse, A.M., of Boston, " 1862, to May 1865 

Richard Brig;?8, of Brookline, " 1863, to Jan. 1864 

Edward Rupert Humphreys, LL.D., of Boston, " 1864, to " 1867 

George Mountfort, of Boston, " 1864, to " 1868 

John K. Wiggin, of Boston, " 1866, to " 1870 

Deloraine P. Corey, of Maiden, " 1867. 

Col. Albert H. Hoyt, A.M., of Boston, " 1868, to Jan. 1869 

Charles S. Fellows, of Boston, " 1869, to " 1870 

William J. Foley, of Boston, " 1869, to Sept. 1869 

The Kev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M., of Boston, " 1870. 

Wm. Otis Johnson, M.D., of Boston, " 1870. 

James F. Hunnevrell, of Charlestown, " 1870. 



Committee on Finance, 

Gen. Samuel Andrews, of Roxbury, Jan. 1852, to Jan. 1856 

*David Hamblen, of Bo.ston, " 1852, to Nov. 1855 

*Samuel Nicolson, of Boston, " 1850, to Jan. 1857 

*Col. Samuel Swett, A.M., of Boston, " 1856, to " 1857 

Nathaniel Whiting, of Watertown, " 1856, to " 1857 

*The lion. George VV. Messinger, of Boston, " 1856, to " 1857 

John W. Dean, A.M., of Boston, " 1856, to " 1857 

John AVells Parker, of Roxbury, " 1857, to " 1858 

Charles Henry Morse, of Cambridgcport, " 1857, to " 1858 

William Makepeace, of Boston, " 1857, to " 1858 

Thomas J. Whittemore, of Cambridge, " 1857, to " 1858 

Isaac Child, of IJoston, " 1857, to " 1860 

♦Sylvester Bliss, of Roxbury " 1858, to " 1859 

William Emerson Baker, of Boston, " 1858, to " 1861 

♦Jacob Quincy Kettelle, A.B., of Boston, " 1858, to " 1859 

Charles Benjanrin Richardson, of Boston, " 1858, to Nov. 1858 

William Makepeace, of Boston " 18,59, to Jan. 1860 

Jeremiah Colburn, A.M., of Boston, " 1859, to " 1802 

Thomas J. W'hittcmore, of Cambridge, " 1859, to " 1863 

William B. Towne, of Brookline, " 1800. 

♦The Hon. George W Messinger, of Boston, " 1860, to April 1870 

John Tisdale Bradlce, of Bostcni, " 18(il, to Jan. 1804 

Frederic Kidder, of Boston, " 1802, to " 1869 

John Merrill Bradbury, of Boston, " 1863, to " 1867 



i r(C 



56 X. E. HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. 

John Wilson Candler, of Brookline, Jan. 1864, to Jan. 1869 

The Hon. George C. Richardson, of Boston, •• 1867, to " 1669 

Henrv Edwards, Esq., of Boston, •' 1669 

The Hon. Cliarles B. Hall, of Boston, " 1&69. 

George William Bond, of West Rosburj-, " 1869. 

Percival Lowell Everett, of Boston, " 1870. 

COitMITTEE ON PaPERS AXD EsSATS. 

*The Rev. Martin Moore, A.M., of Boston, Mar. 1860, to Jan. 1861 

The Rev. Lucius R. Paige, D.D., of Cambridge, " 1860, to " 1861 

William Reed Deane, of Bruokline, " 1860. 

The Rev. Frederic W. Holland, A.M., of Dorchester, " 1860, to Jan. 1865 

Thomas Gushing. A.M., of Boston, " 1»60, to " 1864 

The Rev. Washingt-jn Gilbert, A.M., of West Newton, . . . Jan. 1861, to " 1870 

John Gardner White, A.M., of Boston, " 1861, to " le64 

The Hon. Charles lludsjn. A M.. of Lexington, " 1864. 

The Rev. Edmund F. Slafter. A.M.. of Bjston, " 1864. to Jan. 1867 

The Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D. . of Waltham, " 1865, to " 1868 

David Pulsifer, A.M., of Boston,.. " 1867, to " 1869 

Cajjt. George Henry Preble, U.S. X., of Charlestown, " 1868. 

John Ward'Dean, A.M., of Btjston, " 1870. 

The Rev. Increase Niles Tarbux, D.D., of Bcston, " 1870. 

Committee ox Heraldry. 

William Henrv Whitmore, A.M.. of Boston Feb. 1864. 

Abner C. G.xxiell. Jr.. A.M., of Salem " 1864. 

The Rev. William S. Bartlet, A.M., of Chelsea, " 1664, to Jan. 1865 

August-US T. Perkins, A.M., of B:>ston, " 1864. 

William S. Appleton. A.M.. of Boston, " 1864. 

Edwards. Rand, Jr.; A.M., of Bostjn, " 1870. 

TRUSTEES OF FUNDS. 



The Bond Fund. 

Col. Almon Danforth Hodges, of Rfjxbury, July 1659. 

Frefleric Kidde-. of Boston, " 1859. 

John \^'ard Dean, A.M., of Bost-jn, " 18.59, to Jan. 1863 

Thomas Waterman, of Boston, Jan. 1863. 

The Baestow Fund. 

William B. Towne, of Brookline, May 1862. 

Cul. Aim jn Danforth Hadses, of Roxbury, " 1862. 

J. Tisdale Bradlee, of Boston " 1862, to Jan. 1864 

The Hon. Charles B. Hall, of Bjston, Jan. 1865. 

The Towne Memorial Fxtso. 

William B. Towne, of Brookline, Jan. 1864. 

Col. Almon Danforth Hodges, of Ftoxburv, " 1864. 

The Hon. Charles B. Hall, of Boston, " 1865. 

The Cushman Genealogical Fund. 

Col. Almon Danforth Hodges, of Roxbury, Jan. 1866. 

Frederic Kidder, of Bjstrjn, " 1866. 

Thomas Waterman , of Boston, " 1866. 



LIFE-MEMBERS 



OF THE SOCIETY, TO JUNE, 1870. 



Compiled by William B. Towne, Esq. 



1S57. 

*Ben,iamin Vinton French, 



'Braintrce. 



1858. 

Edmund Bachclder Dearborn, Boston. 

William Blake Trask, Dorchester. 

Thomas Bellows Wyman, Jr., Charlestoton. 

1850- 
John Ward Dean, A.M. Boston. 

Col. Almon D. Hodges, Roxbury. 

I860. 

*John Barstow, Providence, R. I. 

Isaac Child, Boston. 

*Hon. George W. Messinger, Boston. 

William Blanchard Towne, Brookline. 

18Q1. 

*Hon. CalvinFletcher, A.M. Indianapolis, In. 
Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, D.D., New-Bedford. 

1863. 

•Nathan'l Chauncey.A.M., Philadelphia,Pa. 
Eihs'ard Franklin Everett, A. M.,f^/t(t/'feA<ow«. 
Samuel T. Parker, South Reading. 

1863. 
*Hon. John All)ion Andrew, LL.D., Boston. 
William AiJi)leton, Boston. 

Hon. John Israel Baker, Beverly. 

William Emerson Baker, Boston. 

*Hou. Samuel Dana Bell, LL.D., 

Mamfiestnr, .V. H. 
George Baty Blake, Brookline. 

George D. B. Blanchard, Maiden. 

John Merrill Bradbury, Boston. 

Jonathan Brown Bright, Walthum. 

Charles Chauiu-y Burr, Neicton. 

Aivah Augustus Burrage, Boston. 

John Wiison Candler, Brookline. 

•Thomas Cliadbournc, M.D., Concord, .V. //. 
John Cummings. Jr. Wobnrn. 

William Reed Deane. Brookline. 

Abner Cheney Goudell, Jr., A.M., Salem. 
William Whitwell Grcenongh, A.B., Boston. 
Hon. Charles Bingley Hall, Boston. 

Wellington La Garoun Hunt, Boston. 

Martin M. Kellogg, Boston. 

Frederic Kidder, Boston. 

John R. Kimball, Wohurn. 

Amiis Adams I^iwTcnce, A.M., Brookline. 
Winslow Lewis, A.M., M.I)., Boston. 

Hon. Fred. Walker Lincoln, Jr., A.M., Boston. 
Hugh Montgomery, Boston. 

James Rctv\, Boston. 

8 



Hon. George C. Richardson, Boston. 

John Wingate Thornton, A.M., Bosto7i. 

Hon. George Bruce Upton, Boston. 

Rev. John Adams Vinton, A.M., Boston. 
*John Wiight Warren, M.D., Boston. 

Nehemi ah Washburn, Brookline. 

Henry Austin Whitney, A.M., Boston. 

Hon. Marshall Pmckney Wilder, Dorchester. 
Hon. Moses Thompson" Willard, M.D., 

Concord, N. H. 
1864. 
Ebcnczer Alden, A.M., M.D., Randolph. 
William Sumner A()plcton, A.M., Boston. 
Henry B. Humphrey, Thomaston, Me. 

Manning Leonard, Southhridqe. 

Joel Miiu^eil. Albany, NY. 

Benjamin B. Torrey, Boston. 

Andrew Henshaw Ward, Newton. 

1865. 

Salomon Alofsen, Jersey City, N. J. 

Jeremiah Colburn, A.M., Boston. 

*Gcorge J. Fiske, Boston. 

Rev. Richard M. Hodges, A.M., Cambridge. 
Samuel H Pardons, A.M., Middletoicn, Ct, 
Edward Sprague Riind, A.M., Boston. 

Thomas Spooner, Reading, Ohio. 

El bridge Wason, Brookline. 

Hon. John Wcntworth, LL.D , Chicago, III. 
Edward C. Wilson, Brookline. 

1866. 

James Madison Beebe, Boston. 

George Chandler, M.D., Worceste)-. 

Peter Hobart, Jr., Boston. 
Rev. Thos. R. L:unbert, D.D., CharL-stoimi. 

John Hannibal Sluppard, A.M., Boston. 

Rev. Ednnmd F. Slaftcr, A M., Bosio7i. 

Hon. Gincry Twijhell, Brookline. 

John Gardner White, A.M., Boston. 

1867. 

Lcdyard Bill, Nctc-York. 

Rev. Caleb Davis Bradlee, A.M., Boston. 
Rev. Jas. Howard Means, A.M., Dorchester. 
Rev. Eli.as Nason, A.M., Billerica. 

1868- 
Henry Tniinan Bcckwith, Providence, R. I. 
Hon.Wm. A. Buddngham, LL.D., 

Norwich, Ct. 
Hon. Alex. H. Bullock, LL.D., Worcester. 
Edward Payson Burnham, Snco, Me. 

Hon. Alvah Crocker, Fltchburg. 

«Geo. WoUrFahnestock, Philadelphia, Pa. 



58 



N. E. HISTORIC, GENExlLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Jonathan French, 
David Parsons Holton, M.D. 
Albert Harrison Iloyt, A.M. 
Hon. Otis Norcross, 
John Parker Towne, A.B., 
Charles W. Tnttle, A.M., 
Joseph Harrison Ward, 
Samuel Hidden Wentworth, 
*Rev. Pliuy H. White, A.M. 
Nathaniel Whiting, 
Charles O. Whitmorc, 
John Grecnleaf Whittier, A 



Boston. 

Xew- York. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Edgerton, Wis. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

A.M., Boston. 

,, Cm-entrij, Vt. 

Watortoto7i. 

Boston. 

M., Amesbury. 



1869. 

Hon. Francis Bassett, A.M., Boston. 

Eliphalet W. Blatchford, Chicago, III. 

Benjamin F. Burgess, Boston. 

Peter Butler, Boston. 

Rev. James Freeman Clarke, D.D., Boston. 

Hon. Albert Fearing, Boston. 

John Foster, Boston. 

Hon. Alexander H. Holly, Salisburg, Ct. 
Charles D. Homaus, A.M., M.D., Boston. 

Eben D. Jordan, Boston. 

George H. Kuhn, Boston. 

Edward Lawrence, CharUstown. 

James L. Little, Boston. 
Capt. Geo. Henry Preble,U.S.N. Charlesiotcn. 

Col. James W. Sever, A.M., Boston. 

Rev. Carlos Shifter, A.M., Dedham. 

Nathaniel Thayer, A.M., Boston. 

William Thomas, Boston. 

William W. Tucker, A.M., Boston. 

Cyrus Woodman, A.M., Cambridge. 

1870. 

Alvin Adams, Watertown. 

James Adams, Jr. Charlestown. 

John L. Alexander, A.M., M.D., Belmont. 



Hon. Oakes Ames, 

Oliver Ames, 

Holmes Ammidown, 

William T. Andrews, A.M., 

Samuel Atherton, 

Abraham Avery, 

JoBiah G. Bachelder, 

Richafd Baker, Jr , 

Josiah Bardwell, 

Benjamin E. Bates, 

A. H. Batcheller, 

Alexander Beal, 

James H. Beal, 

Aaron H. Beau, 

Hou. Charles H. Bell, A.M., 

Cornelius N. Bliss, 

Gardner Brewer, 

Hon. Edward Brooks, A.M.. 

John W. Brooks, 

Haydn Brown, 

Hon. Edwin H. Bugljee, 

William A. Burke, 

Maj. George O. Carpenter, 

Dexter H. Chamberlain, 

Nathaniel G. Chapin, 

George B. Chase, 

Jothain G. Chase, 

Benjamin P. Cheney, 

Col. Thomas E. Chickerin; 

Addison Child, 

Daniel F. Child, 



North Easton. 

North Easton. 

New- York. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 
Brooklme. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Exetfir, N. H. 

New- York. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Bosto7i. 

West Neicbury. 

KMuufi}/, Conn. 

Lowell. 

Boston. 
West Roxhury. 

Boston. 

Boston. 
Spring/i-eld. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 



Gardner Chilson, Boston. 

His Excellency William Claflin, Boston. 

Col. VV'illiam W. Clapp, Boston. 

Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., Boston. 

Henry Martyn Clarke, Boston. 

James W. Clark, Framingham. 

Samuel Crocker Cobb, Boston. 

Hon. Gerry W. Cochrane, Boston. 

Robert Codman, A.M., Boston. 

William E. Coffin, Boston. 

Elisha S. Converse, Maiden. 

James C. Converse Boston. 

James W. Converse, Boston. 

Charles Cowley, Loicell. 

Abner Curtis. East Abingfon. 

Nathaniel Curtis, A.M., Boston, 

Ebenezer Dale, Boston. 

Theron J. Dale, Boston. 

Francis Dane, Boston. 

John N. Denuison, Boston. 

Daniel Denny, Boston. 

George P. Denny, Boston. 

Oliver Ditsun, Boston. 

Samuel Downer, Boston. 

Nathan Durfee, M.D., Fall River. 

Harry Herbert Edes, Charlestown. 

Francis F. Emery, Boston. 

Hon. Isaac Emery, Boston. 

William Endicott, Jr., Boston. 

Peretval Lowell Everett, Boston. 

Ezra Farasworth, Boston. 

Ebenezer T. F'an ington, West Roxbury. 

Charles Faulkner, Boston. 

Warren Fishei*, Jr., Boston. 

Jonas Fitch, Boston. 

Charles L. Flint, A.M., Boston. 
John S. Fogg, South Weymouth. 

Charles W. Freeland, Boston. 

Nathan B. Gibbs, Boston. 

Willi.am T. Glidden, Boston. 
Capt. W.F.Goodwin, U.S.A., Concord, N. H. 

Samuel H. Gookin, Boston. 

Samuel Abbott Green, M.D., Boston. 



Charles H. Guild, 
Andrew T. Hall, 
George W. Harding, 
Leonard B. Harrington, 
James Haughton, 
Franklin Haven, 
Henry P. Haven, 
John Heard, 
John Hill. 
William Hilton, 
Hon. Alexander H. Holly 
William S. Houghton, 
Gen. Asa Howland, 
Francis J. Humphrey, 
HoUis H. Hunnewell, 
J:unes F. Hunnewell, 
Francis Jaques, 
Francis M. Johnson, 
Samuel Johnson, 
Frederick Jones, 
Rev. Henry Jones, 
Josiah M. Jones, 
Nahum Jones, 
Edward Kidder, 
Henry V. Kidder, 
Daniel Kimball, 
M. Day Kimball, 



East Somennlle. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Salem. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

New London, Ct. 

Bo.fton. 

Stoneham. 

Boston. 

, Salisbury . Ct. 

Boston. 

Conway. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Charlestoipn. 

Boston. 

Newton. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Bridgeport, Ct. 

Boston. 

Bo.ston. 

Wilmington, N. C. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 



W 80 



APPENDIX. 



59 



Carmi E. King, Boston. 

Friiiiklin King, Boston. 

Thomas Lamb, Boston. 

William M. Lathiop, . Boston. 

Col.- Ilcnry Lee, A.M., Boston. 

Ilarri.^on Loring, Boston. 

Ariel Low, Boston. 

Abraham T. Lowe, M.D., Boston. 
Ileniy Lyon, M.D., Charlestown. 

John E. Lyon, Boston. 
Sylvanus J. Macy, New-York, N. Y. 
Hon. A. C. Mayliew, Mi/ford. 

Nathan Matthews, Boston. 

John J. May, Boston. 

Charles Merriam, Boston. 

Hon. E. K. Miidge, Boston. 

Nathaniel C. Nash, Boston. 

Theudoi-o A. Neal, Boston. 

Lyman Nichols, Boston. 

Samuel B. Noyes, A. B., Canton. 

Benjamin F. Nourse, Boston. 

William Parsons, Boston. 

Samnel R. Payson, Boston. 
Augustus ThoVndike Perkins, A.M., Boston. 

Willi.jius Perkins, Boston. 

Georw H. Peters, Boston. 

William C. Peters, A.M. Boston. 

Henry W. Pickering*, Boston. 

Henry L. Pierce, Boston. 

Avery Plunier, Boston. 

Hon. Jonathan Preston, Boston. 

Thomas D. Quincj', Bostoti. 

Thomas D. Quincy, Jr. Boston. 

Edward S. R.and, Jr. Boston. 

Hon. Alexander H. Rice, A.M. Boston. 

Henry A. Rice, Boston. 

Lewis Rice, Boston. 
Samuel B. Rindge, Cambridge. 

Nathan Roliliins, Boston. 

Royal E. Rol)bins, Boston. 

John P. Roliinson, Boston. 

Joseph S. Ropes, A.B., Boston. 

M. Denman Ross, Boston. 

Stephen P. Ruggles, Boston. 

Prof. John D. Runkle, A.M., Boston. 

Edwin H. Sampson, Boston. 

Benjamin Sewall, Boston. 

Beiyamiu Shreve. Salem. 



Rev. Asa D. Smith, D., B.nanover. X. H. 

Col. Hem-y Smith, Boston. 

David Snow, Boston. 

Solomon R. Spankling, Boston. 

William B. Si)ooner, Boston. 

David D. Stackpolc, Boston. 

Darnel B. Stedman, Boston. 

Calel> Stetson, Braintree. 

Benjamin Stevens, Boston. 

Geori^c Stevens, LoicelL 
Alexander J. Stone, M.D., Stillwater, Minn. 

Gen. William Sutton, Peabody. 

John G. Tap])an, Boston. 

George L. Thayer, Boston. 

William Thomas, Boston. 

Albert Thompson, Boston. 

Hon. Newell A. Tliompson, Boston. 
G. Qnincy Tliorndike, A.M., Newport, R. I. 

Supply C. Thwing, Boston. 

Hon. JEdmund P. Tileston, Boston. 

Albert Tirrell, Soutfi Weymouth. 

Minot Tirrell, South Weymouth. 

Hon. Edward S. Tobey, A.M., Boston. 

Hon. Ebenezer Torrcy, Fitchburg. 
Arthur French Towne, Milford, N. H. 

Thomas D. Townsend, Boston. 

Gen. John S. Tyler, Boston. 

Cyrus Wakefield, Wakefield. 

Hon, Sanmel H. Wallcy, A.M., Boston. 

Thomas C. Wales, Boston. 

Samuel D. Warren, Boston. 

Aaron Davis Weld, Boston. 
Francis M. Weld, A.M., West Roxbury. 

William F. Weld, Boston. 

Philip H. Wentworth, Boston. 
Hon. Joseph White, LL.D., Williamstotcn. 

Hon. William Whiting, Boston. 

Ephraim P. Whitman, Cambridge. 

Jarvis Williams, Boston. 

Elisha T. Wilson, M.D. , Boston. 

Edward Wigglesworth, A.M. Boston. 

Thomas Wigglesworth, A.B., Boston. 

George S. Winslow, Bostoti. 

John Wooldrcdge, Lynn. 

Ebcn Wright, Boston. 

John H. Wright, M.D., Boston. 

John S. Wright, Boston. 



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